Stand Up For Jesus

Today I felt the need for a little pep talk, and I am sure that many of you could use the same. I just read another blog that was encouraging it's readers to stand up for what they believe in. This is so important, more now than ever before.

Ephesians 6:13-15
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Many people leave out that last comma when reading this verse. But that comma is really important. This is God telling us to continue to stand even after we have done all that we can do.

Why would He tell us to continue to stand even after we have exhausted our resources? Because He knows that He can continue to use us even after we think that we have done everything in our own power. We are not standing there alone. He is standing behind us.

Hebrews 13:5b
...for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

If you play close attention, even though it seems that we are in very perilous times, there are people out there who are now seeking the truth who have never done so before. You may not even have to approach them. They will see you standing for what you believe in and they may approach you and ask you about it.

Sure, it is still important to spread The Word, but if you are standing strong, you might just be surprised at who approaches you. Remember: the world is watching us to see what we are doing.

God Bless!

Click here for a great song by Jonny Diaz about Standing up for Jesus.

Reader Feedback / Input Needed

One thing that I have realized since starting this new blog is that I am quickly running out of ideas. Especially since I am trying to keep this non-partisan and focused on Christian ideas.

If you have any ideas, comments, or feedback, please let me know. Just believe the title of each bog post there is a place that you can click that says "x comments". Click there and you should get a comment block. You do not have to be a follower to leave a comment, but I love followers! (hint, hint!)

I am working on a few idea that my Dad has submitted to me, but they are pretty heavy concepts that require a bit of Bible Study and research. (figures my Dad would give me homework)

Take care guys!

Now More Than Ever

Christians and Believers: Due to the recent Political action that has taken place, it is urgent that we Pray more for our Country more than we ever have before. You may say that we should "re-double" our efforts.

Regardless of whether you agree with the political actions or not, you cannot argue that the number of people who will now be more frustrated with their government than ever before in recent history will be on the rise.

This is exactly why as Christians, we need to seek God's guidance for this great nation as we never have before. It is time for a Revolution of Prayer!

I pledge to pray for our Country and our Leaders at every available opportunity and every time it crosses my mind. I ask that you do the same.

It may seem selfish of use to try to preserve this Country as the the greatest nation on earth, but need I remind you that the proceeds of our Great Nation funds outreach efforts throughout the world.

Pray for America!

Emotional Thoughts vs. Rational Thought

Their are dangers that threaten the politically-involved Christian. Modern day politics are all too often based on emotion rather than rational thought. You see examples of this everyday. My rule of thumb is that in a debate, the first person who tries to appeal to your emotion, rather that your rationale, has lost the debate. Sure, we are emotional beings, but if we are debated a topic using strictly the facts, emotion is not necessary to make a rational decision.

I am not saying that we should be cold and heartless, because Jesus commands us to be to be sympathetic. What I am saying is that it is not responsible for us to make policies based on the exception to the rule. Too many times we are given one-a-million sob stories to justify more bureaucracy.

It was not that long ago that those among us who were in need came to the church or the temple for help. This way help could be given in a case by case basis and assure that these funds were not wasted. I think that we should go back to that system.

So next time you are in a conversation, an argument, or a debate, ask yourself this: "Am I using rational thought or emotional thought?"

Would Jesus Want Universal Healthcare?

Well, would He?

Yes, Jesus commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. This would include caring for their health. Yes, Jesus performed many miracles to heal the sick and seemed to have a burden for the sick. He would want us to have this same burden. Yes, Jesus encourages sympathy and even commands us to be charitable.

But would he want the Government to take over the entire system and run it like a bureaucracy? Would he want health care backed by the force of the Government?

Let's compare the scenario to the times of Jesus. Would he have wanted to Romans to take control of all care of the sick? Would he have wanted health care for everyone at the point of a Roman spear? Would he have wanted Roman soldiers enforcing the health care bill?

I think not! I also think that Jesus would not have supported what our Government is trying to do. I think that He would have preferred for those less fortunate to come to the church and receive the charity and sympathy of the church. This is how things were done long before large, over-bearing Government.

I am welcome to suggestions, questions, or comments. The link to comments is located just under the title.

In God We Trust?

You may have heard of the recent court decision to keep "In God We Trust" on our money and also keep "under God" in our Pledge of Allegiance. This decision was made by The Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after it was challenged by atheist Michael Newdow in two First Amendment cases. You can read the story here.

So this is great news, right? The question is, was the Judge upholding the constitutionality of this words in their literal sense, or simply preserving a long-standing tradition? Does the words "In God We Trust" really reflect our attitude today?

If "In God We Trust" is no longer in our hearts and minds, does it really matter if it is on our money? We, as Christ Followers, need to ponder this motto and be sure that it rings true in our own hearts before we expect our Country to return to the mindset that it once held when the great men who founded our Country made the decision to stamp this on every coin and print it on every bill.

One More Reason...

Here is one more reason that we need to be involved. There are government members who wish to take away some of our rights. When one right is taken away or even limited, a slippery slope in created in which all of our rights are threatened.

You may have heard of The Fairness Doctrine. There are politicians that would like to bring a form of the doctrine back to limit what can be aired on radio and television. There have been dozens of examples of politicians who seek to limit our right or take them away completely in the last few years. The problem is that they usually pick a particular target that is polarizing or emotional in some way and fire away. The problem is that when they aim at one thing, they is almost always collateral damage. If politicians and bureaucrats were allowed to pass a law limiting the free speech of "right wing extreme talk radio" or any other specific group, do you think that Christians would not be effected?

I suggest that if you have not read the Bill of Rights or the Constitution lately, that you do so. It is difficult to protect your rights if you do no know what they are.

So why I am discussing the protection of preservation of our rights? To this day, we are the most free Country in the World. This enables us to spread the Gospel like no other Country can. If the Fairness Doctrine were passed tomorrow, no only would it apply to talk radio, but to Christian radio as well. It would then spread into our churches and places of worship. In order for us to maintain our right to worship freely and witness freely, we must keep our 1st Amendment Rights intact.

Should Christians Be Involved?

I just finished reading an article that stated that "True Christians should not be involved in politics at all". (see link at bottom of post) It went on to say "Voting for others is voting against Christ" and other claims of the same sort. Is this true?

I am not of the belief that we should stand idly by and let our Country be ruined by bureaucrats and politicians. I believe that Jesus would want us to fight evil until there is no more evil to be fought.

Some Christian's are of the mindset that the world is going to hell as was predicted in the Bible and we should just let it because it is inevitable. I think that this mindset is wrong. We should never give up the fight. Even if we are fighting a losing battle, just the testimony that we make evident when we choose to fight may be all that it takes to lead others to follow Christ.

If anyone would like to challenge me on this, please do. I am open to other viewpoints. From what I know of my God though, I have a real hard time accepting that He would want us to just sit down, shut up, and take what the world throws at us.

What do you think?

Link: Christians Should Abstain From Politics

Hillary Clinton is Advocating for Abortion in Brazil

I chose this story, because it is a good example of how it is up to us to choose the politicians that we vote for wisely.

Secretary of State Clinton gave a nationally televised interview late last week in which she stated that abortion "is something that needs to be carefully thought about because of the great effect it has on the numbers of children that poor women have that they can’t educate, feed properly, care for, the great toll that illegal abortions take, and the denial of women being able to exercise such a fundamental personal right."

Can you believe this? Rather than advocate for morally correct means to deal with these problems in Brazil, Hillary Clinton has chosen to use her position to rally in support of abortion. This is very sad.

Here in the United States, we have performed 45 Million abortions in the period between 1973 and 2005. That is 45,000,000 children that literally never saw the light of day. Can you imagine what God could have done with them?

My Dad used to tell a story of a man who died and went to heaven. When he got there, he was informed that he was allowed to ask God one question. The man approached God and said "Father, why did you allow so much suffering on the World, why did you not send us someone who had the answers for World Peace, the cure for Cancer, and the cure for AIDS?" God answered: "I did... and you aborted them".

That little story could be very true. How do we know what may have become of the lives of those Millions of children? I guess we will never know.

Sources:
Christian Telegragh
Wikipedia

When Good Men Do Nothing

"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing." -Edmond Burke

I do not know if Mr. Burke was a Christian, but this sounds like something that a Christ Follower would say. Over the last few years, I have become more and more aware of the corruption creeping into our politics and bleeding over into our culture. How did all of this start?

My opinion is that over the last two decades, Christians have withdrawn into a shell of protection due to the growth of the Political Correctness movement. It was all too easy to be accused of being racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted, etc. when Believers tried to state their opinions on abortion, gay marriage, and other such issues. It was easier just to withdraw into our homes and churches and completely ignore politics, locally and nationally.

While Christians were busy with anything but politics, the secular politicians and community leaders took over and began pushing an "anything-goes" mentality. Tolerance was preached in our schools, universities, and communities. People kept there mouths shut in fear of offending other people. Prayer was banned from our schools, Bibles were pulled from shelves and thrown away, public schools began re-writing history and science textbooks with new agendas, and the Christians stood aside and let it happen.

Today we are seeing the beginning of a new age of awareness. Christians are beginning to open their eyes and wonder how we got here. So what are we supposed to do? Is there anything we can do? Is this going to be too-little, too-late? Can we truly represent Christ's love through our involvement in politics? Can we reverse the descent of our Nation into immorality? What does God say that we should do? Does the Bible even say anything about politics?

These are the questions that I want to start answering through this blog. I need your help as I explore these questions. Please feel free to leave questions or suggestions in the comment box below each blog entry. I would also like to get others involved in this blog as co-authors. If you are interesting in contributing to this discussion as a co-author or guest author, please contact me via Facebook http://www.facebook.com/uprootedyankee or via e-mail micah.martin@videojet.com.

God Bless America!