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Saturday, May 28, 2022

Memorial Day and the Reason We Observe it.

 

The Reason we Observe Memorial Day

Many people no longer have an inkling of why we observe Memorial Day. To them it is just another holiday for which they may or may not get off from work. To many it is a day to get together with family or friends to go boating, fishing, or to bar-be-que in the back yard with friends and family. And if asked why they get to have this extra time off for leisure, the younger generations really can’t answer you. Oh, don’t get me wrong, the older Americans definitely know why we celebrate Memorial Day. In fact, many older adults still call Memorial Day, Decoration Day, as that was its original name. These same older adults may spend the day going to cemeteries to lay wreaths upon the graves of loved ones or fallen soldiers. But somewhere along the line, some of these same older adults have failed to explain the importance of Memorial Day just as they and society in general has failed to explain to X, Y, Millennials, Gen. Z, and the Alpha generations what it means to be patriotic. (Please don’t lambast me if I got some of the generations’ names wrong, or I left out a generation).

It is sad that we have failed the following generations by not teaching and showing them the importance of patriotism and holidays that recognize the sacrifices of people who have gone before us to give us the special country that we live in today. We take things for granted and in doing so are on the cusp of losing the greatest Republic that was ever established. God was there for our forefathers and helped them to form this country with its unique constitution and freedoms. Yet, today there are many people who want to destroy that constitution and take away many if not all of the freedoms that we have been given. That is why true born-again Christians need to pray and ask God to protect this country and the freedom that so many have given their life to protect. Moreover, Christians need to start mentoring their children about some of the historical holidays and about the importance of patriotism. They need to teach our children that history is a way of learning from our past so that we do not repeat the same mistakes again. Just as importantly, older Americans need to teach or mentor our current generations on the fact that history is not something that we have to get rid of if we don’t agree with what our ancestors have done. Instead, history is to be treasured as learning experiences that we don’t have to duplicate in order to become a better society. But denial of our wrong doings will never make us a better society and such denial may lead to repeating the same mistakes made in the past.

Memorial Day is a history lesson as well. For, Memorial Day is a historical record of all the wars that we have fought and why we fought them which are told from family members who have lost relatives in the wars to protect our country. Although, Memorial Day may be a time to play with family and friends at the lake and in the backyard, or a time to go shopping for big sales, it is first and foremost a time to recognize all the men and women who have given their lives to keep this country free. It is a time to reflect on what we would be if not for the ultimate sacrifice these men and women have made for us. It is also a time to thank God for our freedom. Indeed, Memorial Day is a time to pray on bended knee for the continued freedom of our country and for the safety of our troops wherever they are serving. In the same prayer of thankfulness for our freedom, we need to also thank God for the blessings that He has bestowed on this country and ask Him to continue blessing us. In addition, we need to pray for the healing of our country and our land. In fact, God has told us in Scripture, “If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”  -- (II Chronicles 7: 14. NLT).

Have you reached out to God today and thanked Him for your freedom? Have you thanked God for this country? If not, perhaps before the day is over or over the next few weeks, we should all thank God for our freedom and our country. Perhaps we should also commit to mentoring the next generations on the meaning of Memorial Day and patriotism. If we don’t do it, we could lose this beautiful country to those who actually are being taught to hate what America stands for and to hate the history of America. It is time to get on bended knee and pray for our country and our children. You can do it! You can share our history and the love of our country with others who know nothing about our country. So, take a few moments this week-end and share the history of your family and talk with your children about those members who have died for our country. If you get the time, take your children and your young people to a cemetery where your family is interned. Talk to them about the sacrifice that your loved one(s) have made for the freedom of our country. And, then pray with your family giving God the glory for all your blessings and the blessings of this country. You can do it! 

Friday, February 11, 2022

Praising the Lord in Every Situation

Dear Readers, I am sorry that I haven't posted something for quite a while, but the circumstances in my life kept me from doing so. I am glad to be back and will attempt to post something every week or so. Please bear with me. I hope you enjoy the topics and the posts that I have written recently. May God Bless each of you.

Vicky

 

Praising the Lord in Every Situation

There is nothing like truly praising the Lord! For, there is a special connection that occurs when we step outside of our staid, prim, and proper demeanors to let the Lord know that we truly love Him for who He is; our good and loving all-caring and all-knowing providential God. There are many times, though, when we can’t seem to find the time in our everyday lives to give God all the praise He deserves. Someday, though, when we go to heaven, we will spend a great deal of time praising God as recorded in the book of Revelation which says: “And from the throne came a voice that said, ‘Praise our God, all His servants, from the least to the greatest, all who fear (i.e., honor and respect) Him.’” – (Revelation 19: 5. NLT). Obviously, in heaven we will enjoy and look forward to praising Him. Right now, however, this doesn't seem possible because to our earthly lives there are many times when we are just so busy doing the things in this life that we seldom think about praising God just for the sake of praising Him for Who He is.

If we do find the time to connect with God, it is often through our prayers of request and it is seldom through a specific praise of our Lord. Don’t get me wrong, God loves to hear from us, and He loves to have us pray to Him requesting His help and support. But God also loves to hear us just praise Him. He even loves to hear us praise Him from within the depths of our despair and while we are going through the storm of some trial. For, it is when we praise God, no matter what is happening in our lives, that He knows we truly honor and respect His glory. Moreover, it is through our praises that we can essentially tell God that He is first and foremost in our lives and He is worthy of praise. So, it is important that we praise the Lord every day. In fact, the author of the book of Hebrews wrote: “With Jesus’ help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of His Name.” – (Hebrews 13: 15. NLT). This means that even though it is hard to get out of our own selves long enough to put the God of the Universe above all that is going on in our lives, that we still should make it a priority to focus on praising God. The Holy Spirit will help us do so if we just ask. And, to help remind us to praise God, we have been given many examples in the Bible of how to praise Him no matter what is happening in our lives. One of the best places to get examples of praise is from the Book of Psalms in the Bible. For, it is there that we can see how David and other psalmists praised the Lord even when they were at their very lowest or when they were on the heights of joy.

The Hebrew Version of the Older Testament actually calls the Book of Psalms “Hymns of Praise” and with good reason. Many of the Psalms are a beautiful celebration of the attributes of God: His Love, His power, His Creativeness, His Protection, and His provision of all His people. A psalmist who wrote Psalm 150, which is the last psalm recorded in the book of Psalms, wrote: “Praise the Lord. Praise God in His heavenly dwelling; praise Him in His mighty heaven!  Praise Him for His mighty works; praise His unequaled greatness! … Let everything that lives sing praises to the Lord!” – (Psalm 150: 1, 2, 6. NLT). But are we doing that? Although this particular psalm is specifically a psalm or song of praise, there are other psalms which contain laments, stories, and praises all rolled into one. However, this particular psalm also gives us an example of how Christians should continually praise God for all that He does for us and for all that He will do in the future. It is also within this psalm that writer gives us specific words that we, too, can use to praise God; words like praising Him for "His heavenly dwelling," His "mighty works" and His "unequaled greatness." Moreover, it is within this particular psalm that we can see how exuberant we are supposed to be in praising God. Our praises should have a depth of joy to them.

We can also see that the psalmist spoke in this particular psalm about praising God with music such as praising Him with a “blast of the trumpet; praise Him with the lyre and harp! Praise Him with the tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with a clash of cymbals; Praise Him with loud clanging cymbals.” – (vs. 3-5).  Notice here that music can be very important in the praising of God, because music takes us out of ourselves, and it elevates us to higher spiritual realm while it helps us to focus specifically on the joy of praising God. Then in yet another psalm we are given a specific example of the importance of using our voices as well as our musical instruments to praise the Lord. For we are told within Psalm 98 to “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy, yes, sing praises.” – (Psalm 98: 4. Amplified).

Sometimes, it is hard to think about praising the Lord when we are in the midst of a problem or health situation. A few weeks ago, I had yet another surgery. Even though it was outpatient surgery and the recuperation wasn’t supposed to take all that long, it was still surgery. So, I started out by praising the Lord for the physician, the nurses, and the anesthesiologist that would be taking care of me. Then, I again praised the Lord once the surgery was over and again when I was on the way home. And, for the next few days, I praised the Lord for the healing that was occurring and for a husband who gladly and patiently took care of me. Moreover, thanked God and praised Him for all the friends who prayed for me. These are just a few of the things for which I praised the Lord. Certainly, there is so much more that I should be praising the Lord for, but this was just an example of my praising of the Lord during what could have been a troubling time for me. I am sure that you all have also had situations where the last thing on your mind was to praise the Lord, because all you could think about was just getting through the trial or how you could overcome the problem you were facing. But instead of just thinking about our situation, we need to focus on praising God no matter the circumstances. So, instead of only praising God for what He has recently done for us, or just praising God on Sunday mornings during church worship, we need to focus on praising God throughout each day and in all circumstances.

Everyone has unique or unusual circumstances that they didn’t know if they would be able to overcome at the time they occurred. But with God's help, we can overcome many of the circumstances that we encounter. In fact, the Bible gives us many examples of how people have overcome terrible situations and how they praised God in spite of the trouble they were in. One such example is the story of Paul and Silas who were beaten and thrown into prison because Paul had removed a demon from a girl who could tell the future of others. She was being used by a merchant for her demonic fortune telling abilities to make money? So, an angry crowd formed after Paul removed the fortune telling demon, because the girl could no longer make money for her master. The people were angry with Paul and Silas, so they severely beat them and then threw them into jail. But instead of feeling sorry for themselves, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly, there was an earthquake and the chains fell off of Paul and Silas and the other prisoners. The doors to the prison were opened. 

When the jailer discovered that the doors of the prison were open, he became very afraid that all the prisoners for whom he was responsible had escaped, so he decided to kill himself before his superiors killed him. But Paul stopped the jailer from killing himself and told him that all his prisoners were still there. No one had escaped. It was then that “the jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down before Paul and Silas. He brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’” – (Acts 16: 29-30. NLT). The jailer knew who Paul and Silas were and that they had been preaching about Christ. He also knew that only God could have saved these men. So, when the jailer finally understood what Paul and Silas had been preaching, he knew that he, too, was a sinner. He then risked everything to find Salvation. 

Despite the terrible situation that Paul and Silas found themselves in and despite the pain that they had suffered during and after their beatings, they praised God. Furthermore, they not only prayed to God for help, but they also sang praises to God, thus setting a wonderful example for the other prisoners. Paul and Silas’ reputation of believing in and sharing the Gospel message of the risen Lord Jesus Christ and His offered salvation had preceded them, so when they showed the jailer their complete faith and trust in God, the jailer then risked everything to believe on Christ. For, the jailer asked Paul what he must do to be saved. This is a truly an amazing example of what God does with prayer and praise. God heard Paul and Silas’ praises as well as their prayers, and He not only got them out of prison, but God also brought the jailer to salvation. What a mighty and wonderful God we serve! He deserves our praises all the time!

There are many other examples from the Bible about the importance of praising God. Indeed, just from the Book of Psalms there are many examples showing the importance of praising the Lord. One such example is found in Psalm 117 where we read that our praise of God is extremely important. In fact, we discover in this psalm that we should praise the Lord for His unlimited love. For, the psalmists wrote: “Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.” -- (Psalm 117. NLT). We don't know who wrote this Psalm, but there others writers and especially David who wrote a great number of the Psalms where we discover that God always hears us and acts on the behalf of those who truly love Him. And we learn that no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in, we can rest assured that God loves us.

Psalm 34 is a psalm that David wrote when he had to pretend to be insane in front of Abimelech in order to save his own life and to be allowed to leave the city. Afterward, David wrote: “I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak His praises. I will boast only in the LORD; let all who are discouraged take heart. Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness; let us exalt His name together! I prayed to the LORD, and He answered me, freeing me from all my fears. Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. I cried out to the LORD in my suffering, and He heard me. He set me free from all my fears. For the angel of the LORD guards all who fear Him, and He rescues them. Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust in Him! Let the LORD’s people show Him reverence, for those who honor Him will have all they need.”  -- (Psalm 34: 1-9. NLT). From just this portion of Psalm 34 we discover that even though God promises blessings to those who trust in Him, God also requires our active participation in prayer and praises to receive all the blessings He has in store for us. Indeed, God provides blessings beyond our wildest imagination, if we will just trust Him (34: 8), fear Him (34: 7), seek Him (34: 4), cry out to Him (34:6) and reverence Him (34:9). We are also told in other parts of this psalm that blessings will come if we turn from lying, turn from evil, do good and seek peace, and if in our broken heartedness we turn to God, rely on Him, and serve Him. So, no matter what our circumstances are, we are to praise God for who He is and for all His goodness! Most importantly, we are to praise God for sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins and then raising Him from the dead, so that those who believe on Jesus Christ will never have to face eternal death. We need to praise God for our Salvation and the home in heaven that we will one day see.

Let’s not forget to praise God. In fact, when we praise the Lord, other people will see our love of the God, and the example we set for loving God will help others to come closer to God as well. You can do it! You can spend more time each day praising the Lord. You can praise God through good and bad circumstances, and you can show your trust and faith in God through your acts of praise. You can also be that mentor who exhibits joy and love toward God through your praises. Let’s all make time throughout the day to praise God! Now, go and praise the Lord no matter what your circumstance.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Listening for the Lord's Return



We all have things that we listen for in our lives. For example, mother’s listen for their baby’s cry or for their toddler’s quietness. For, a toddler who isn’t making any noise will undoubtedly be getting into something that she shouldn’t, and a baby’s cry can mean many different things that the mother needs to address including hunger or wet diapers. Perhaps the baby just needs reassurance by being held in the mother’s arms, but whatever her cry, a mother knows each and every different type of cry and listens closely for the baby’s cry. However, there are many other things that we listen for besides our children. Those of us who have a garage door often listen for the garage door to go up in anticipation of our loved one coming home from work or from running errands. We even listen for our puppies when we let them outside to play for a little while. And, we listen for our teenagers to come home when they are out on a date. But all of the things that we listen for are important to us or designate certain events around us. Moreover, listening for all these sounds in life also keeps us focused on the important things in our lives. But there is another sound that we should all be listening for and that is the sound of the Lord’s return.

Jesus told His disciples that He would return to take home those who have believed in Him. Jesus said, “… And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast, and they will gather together His chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.”  -- (Matthew 24: 30-31. NLT). So, we who are anticipating Christ’s return are to be listening for the trumpet blast which will tell us that Christ is coming. I don’t know about you, but I often pray for Christ to come quickly, especially when I see our culture disintegrating around us. My heart longs to be with the Lord and I listen for His trumpet call. Yet, there are so many things in this world that distract us from listening for the Lord’s return. Daily life interrupts our listening. Problems that we think are so important disrupt our listening. Can you imagine, though, not listening for your baby to cry or not listening for your teenager to come through the door at curfew time? I can't. So, why do we often fail to listen for Christ’s return? And, what does it mean when we say that we are listening for Christ’s return?

Listening for Christ’s return means that we are living in preparation for His return. Obviously, we are waiting to meet Him face-to-face, but in the meantime, we need to prepare for His return. This means that we should be focused on doing for others, on praying, and on reading His Word, which teaches us how to be true followers of Christ and teaches us how to engage in a Christian lifestyle for others to see and want. Part of our preparation for Christ's return and going to Heaven means that we are sharing the Gospel message and lending a hand to those who need our help. And of course, listening for Christ’s return encourages us to tell others of Christ’s impending return that is getting closer all the time, so they too will be prepared when He returns.

It is good, though, that we don’t know the exact moment when Christ will return, because we could become lackadaisical, i.e., lazy, in our work for the Lord. Some people might even take advantage of the time factor if they knew the exact moment Christ was to return. For, they might continue to sin until the last moment and then only repent at the trumpet sound, so they could get into Heaven, while having done nothing for the Kingdom of God and having not grown in spiritual maturity. But Heaven is only one benefit of the born-again Christian’s Salvation and belief in Christ. For the born-again Christian will receive blessings here on earth as well as crowns in Heaven for her work here on earth that she does to help others come to know Christ, or to help those who are less fortunate than she is. As a follower of Christ’s, we have much work to do here while we are waiting and listening for the final trumpet call. In fact, the best way to prepare for Christ’s return is to spend time taking care of Christ’s people, as we do the work of Christ here on earth. That means we are to take care of people who are both within our church family and those that are still on the outside. We are to be God’s voice and hands to share the love of God and His message.

Everyone on earth will hear the trumpet call of Christ’s when He returns. But that doesn’t mean that everyone will get to go home with Christ. For only those who have believed in Christ and those who have repented of their sins will go home with Christ. The Apostle Paul explained this wonderful event this way: “But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die.”  -- (I Corinthians 15: 51-53. NLT). What a glorious day that will be. This is why we all need to be living our lives in such a way that we can say that we have truly worked for the Lord and have focused on being a true follower of Christ’s. Then, even as we live out our daily lives in this fallen world, we can rest assured that we are preparing for the glorious event of being called home to Heaven. And, if we focus on living for Christ, our heart and our ears will constantly be listening for the Lord’s trumpet call home. Yes, you can do it!  You can mentor other women for the Lord. You can be there to share the Gospel message and to tell others of the coming trumpet call, so they can also listen for the Lord. Are you listening for the Lord’s return and are you doing everything you can to make sure that others are able to go home with Christ too? You can do it! You can engage in Active Relational Christian Mentoring to help others come to know the love of God and His free gift of grace and mercy through His Son, Jesus Christ.   

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Becoming a World-Class Christian



As Christians, God has asked us to participate in the most wonderful and beneficial cause or gift in this world – The Kingdom of God. God’s Kingdom and plan for mankind’s Salvation is the most significant and the greatest cause of all time. Moreover, no race, ethnicity, or gender is left out of God’s cause or plan for mankind. In fact, God wants all people to know about His love and to know that He sent His Son to die for their sins and then to arise from the grave conquering eternal death so that they, too, can be part of God’s Kingdom. Indeed, through Christ everyone is offered the greatest gift of all, eternal life, but first they need to not only hear about God’s gift and His kingdom, but they need someone to explain it to them. That is where members of God’s Kingdom, i.e., those who are born-again Christians, can participate in God’s great cause by sharing the Good News with others and by living up to the standards of God’s Kingdom, such as caring about others and helping those less fortunate. Are you a part of God’s cause and Kingdom? If not keep reading and you too can become part of God’s glorious Kingdom.

There is nothing that matters more in the life of a Saved person than to be an example of Christ’s characteristics and traits for others to see. For it is through our own example of Christlike living and our willingness to share the joy of knowing Christ as our Savior that we will have opportunities to share the Gospel. But to do so, we have to live honorably and humbly for God and His Son so that others can see Christ in us and will then want to know how to invite Him into their lives too. They will need to see our joy and our peace. But sometimes we are so into ourselves, into our own peace and joy, and into what we want to do that we fail to think like world-class Christians. However, there are some steps that we can take to not only live as a child of God, but to also work on becoming a world-class Christian. Just what are those steps? Let's take a look.

First, every born-again Christian needs to stop their self-centered thinking and start thinking about others instead of thinking only of themselves. We all should be “other-centered”. In fact, the Apostle Paul addressed “other-centered” thinking when he wrote: “My friends, stop thinking like children. Think like mature people” -- (I Corinthians 14: 20 CEV).  Then Paul also wrote: “Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too.” – (Philippians 2: 4. NLT). And, finally Paul explained the Christian’s role in the Kingdom of God, when he wrote:I don’t think about what would be good for me but about what would be good for many people so that they might be saved.” – (I Corinthians 10: 33. GWT). If you are a Christian, do you think about whether the other person has come to know Christ or not? Thinking about the Salvation of others should be a priority in the lives of born-again Christians. This is part of becoming a world-class Christian.

Second, born-again Christians need to expand their thinking from just those local people that they run into in their daily lives for whom they can witness, to thinking about people around the world who need to hear the Good News. For, God has always cared about all of the world. In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote: “This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours.  -- (Colossians 1: 6. NLT). And Jesus said, “You will tell everyone about Me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.”  -- (Acts 1: 8. CEV). And when we get to heaven a huge crowd of people from “every race, tribe, nation, and language” will one day stand before Jesus to worship Him. – (Revelation 7: 9. CEV.). Do you know how many of those people standing before Christ that you will have personally witnessed to? Sadly, most Christians can count on one hand the number of people to whom they have witnessed. Certainly, we can do much better in witnessing for Christ both at home and abroad. We just have to make witnessing to others for Christ a priority in our lives. Perhaps you can go on a mission trip to another country, or if you can’t, perhaps you can house visitors from another country in your home for a few days, and therefore get an opportunity to tell them about Christ. But if you cannot do either, you can certainly pray specifically for one person or for a group of people in another country. All you have to do is ask the foreign missions board or your church pastor to give you the name of a person or a group of people for whom you can specifically pray.

We should all pray for opportunities to witness to others instead of just living our lives in a vacuum. We can even pray for both local and overseas missionaries, as well as for those individuals who are putting their lives on the line in order to share Christ with others. Paul said: “Pray for us … so that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ.” – (Colossians 4: 3. NIV). So, we also must pray for the courage to speak up and not remain silent when we are given an opportunity to share Christ with another. The Apostle Paul also told the Ephesians: “Don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I …. am responsible for getting out.”  -- (Ephesians 6: 19-20. The Message). Then let’s also pray for each other to know what to say and to have the courage to say it when God puts an un-Saved person in our path.

Don’t forget to pray for those who will believe. For Jesus prayed, “My prayer is not for [my disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me and I am in You.” – (John 17: 20-21. NIV). (This was part of Christ’s High Priestly Prayer when He prayed for His disciples.). However, not everyone that you witness to will come to know Christ as their Savior. But don’t be discouraged. Instead, just as Christ prayed, pray for those who will believe in Him when they hear the Gospel message. Pray, too, that their ears will be opened and that their hearts will cling to the words that God is giving you to share. Pray for their understanding and for their willingness to recognize that they, like us, were born sinners and need the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ to take away their sins. It is that understanding and their willingness to ask Christ into their hearts that will make all the difference in their lives. They will be blessed and you, too, will be blessed for sharing the most important message that anyone can ever hear.

The third way that we can focus on becoming a World Class Christian is to start thinking about eternity rather and just thinking about here and now in this world. I don’t know about you, but as a born-again Christian I think a great deal about eternity with God. I am so happy that I will get to spend eternity with God and my Savior, and I look forward to eternity. In fact, thinking about eternity is a good thing to do. For, the Apostle Paul explained to us within his letter to the Corinthians that Christians are to think about eternity. He said, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  -- (II Corinthians 4: 18. NIV). Paul also told us to “Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.  -- (I Corinthians 7: 31. This means that we should not focus on the greed, the money, the technological social aspects that entice us, or on any of the momentary things that can ultimately cause us harm or pull us into loving the things of this world. Instead, we need to focus on the eternal things like the love, kindness, and peace that awaits us as we live for God in the here and now as well as on what awaits us in eternity too. For, the things of this world are on the way out. Are you ready for the Rapture?

Every day as I hear the news and see the terrible things that people are doing to each other, I believe that the world is getting closer to the end. On the other hand, I have something wonderful to look forward to. For, God has given us a glorious eternity that starts in our hearts when we are Saved, but that will culminate in the eternity that Christ has prepared for us; an eternity of love and peace with an abiding fellowship with God. And, our guarantee that God will give us an everlasting body at the resurrection of all believers is the Holy Spirit within us. Moreover, as we think more about eternity and less about the here and now, Christians are also able to think about our investments in eternity. In fact, it is our love, kindness, generosity, and our self-sacrifice in doing good for others that becomes our investment in eternity, which all Christians can make, if they are willing to do so. Again, the Apostle Paul succinctly explained these investments and our need to invest in eternity when he told Timothy: “By [being generous and doing good to others] [the wealthy in this world] will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven – it is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well.  -- (I Timothy 6: 9: LB). Are you focused on investing in eternity by helping others and by being kind, generous, and loving? Do you think about what you can do to represent Christ to the rest of the world? If you need to start thinking about ways that you can reach out to help others and show the love of Christ, as well as witness to those who need to know Him, you might consider Active Relational Christian mentoring. Christian mentoring as an easy way to invest not only in others, but to invest in your eternity as you become a World class Christian.

Fourth, World class Christians have goals, because they have stopped thinking of excuses and have instead started thinking of creative ways to fulfill the commission that Christ has given to each of them. The Great Commission is every Christian’s commission. (See Matthew 28: 18-20). No Christian is too young or too old to start thinking about ways to fulfill their personal commission given to them by Christ. In fact, whether the Holy Spirit is encouraging you to become an Active Relational Christian Mentor or encouraging you to become a spokesperson for a particular ministry, the Lord has endowed each Christian, i.e., you, with the ability to share Christ with others. We know this because Jesus, before He was taken up into Heaven, told the apostles: “But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about Me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  -- (Acts 1: 8. NLT).
Just as the disciples were given power, i.e., the Holy Spirit, to witness for Christ, born-again Christians today have also been given the Holy Spirit who empowers them to witness for Christ everywhere they go. It is just a matter of choosing to do your part for the Kingdom of God. Indeed, by doing your part, i.e., by turning from self-centered thinking to other thinking; by spending more time in prayer; by thinking more about the entire world’s need to meet Christ instead of just thinking about those closest to you; by thinking more about eternity instead of just living in the here and now; and by thinking about creative ways to fulfill the commission given to you by Christ, you will not only be living  a life of significance, but you will be on the path to becoming a World-class Christian. World-class Christians maximize their potential as a member of the Kingdom of God. For, Jesus said, “Only those who throw away their lives for My sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live!  -- (Mark 8: 35. LB).

 I hope each of you can focus on growing spiritually and can focus on maturing as a Christian. In fact, the question for all of us is: “Are we going to personally live up to the standards and the cause of God’s Kingdom?” Moreover, are we going to change our selfish way of thinking and instead start thinking about how we can help others understand the Kingdom of God better? Then, are we going to start thinking about people within our communities, within our state, within our nation and even thinking of those in other parts of the world by praying for opportunities to witness and speak up. We need to not only pray for others around the world, but we need to also pray for the missionaries who can witness to the lost? Ultimately, we need to pray for all the people who will believe in Christ as their Savior. I know you can do it! You can not only mentor others for the Lord, but you can become a World-Class Christian, too, in your attitude and in your actions.

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Are You Saved?

If in reading this post you realized that you are not a born-again Christian, it is very easy to turn your life around and ask Christ into your heart. It is never too late, (that is until you take your last breath and then it is too late), to ask Christ for forgiveness of your sins and then ask Him into your heart. All you have to do, with true belief in Christ as the risen Son of God, is to pray something like this:

“Dear Lord, I know that God sent you into this world to die for my sins and I believe that you were born of a virgin, died on the cross, and arose again the third day conquering eternal death for all who will believe in and trust in You. Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and that wages of sin is eternal death. I want eternal life. I am asking you to forgive me of my sins, for I believe that you are the Son of God and that you died on the cross for our sins and then arose from the grave to give those who believe on You eternal life. Jesus, I believe in You! Please come into my heart and save me!”

It is not those exact words that will save you. But it is your telling Christ that you believe in Him and His resurrection, and that you want Him to forgive you of your sins and come into your life that is important and that will save you. Once you give your heart and life to Christ, then go out and tell someone. For Romans 10: 9-10 tells us “That if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus as Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in Salvation.” Then you can work on becoming that World Class Christian for Christ.

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If you are interested in reaching out to people for Christ, if you are interested in helping, encouraging, and empowering other women to be all they can be for God, themselves, and their families, perhaps you would be interested in reading my book on Active Relational Christian Mentoring. My book is entitled: The Three-Strand Cord of Active Relational Christian Mentoring. Through personal mentoring stories, it discusses the many types of mentoring and how Christian women can become a blessing to other women, and in the process, they too can be blessed. My book can be purchased through Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Christian Faith Publishing Co., iTunes, and Google Play. Below is a link to Amazon.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Singing to the Lord


Singing to the Lord

I grew up hearing my mother sing. She sang continuously when she was working around the house and her voice was extremely beautiful. She even had an opportunity to sing professionally, but she turned it down because she had a husband and two little children that she did not want to leave to go on the road with a national band. I, on the other hand, was not born with a beautiful voice. Oh, I can carry a tune, and I love to sing for the Lord, but I am not a good enough singer to even be in a church choir. However, I have used my voice to sing praises to the Lord and to lift up my prayers of thanksgiving to Him. I even sang after my replacement knee surgeries when I walked every day in the underground garage at our condo to strengthen my knees. In fact, singing to the Lord is something that we can all do to gain courage, to praise Him, to celebrate His love, to ask for help, and to recite some of the Scriptures that are used within songs. Some say that our Christian songs are actually our prayers that we sing to the Lord. What kind of songs do you sing to the Lord?

The Apostle Paul and Silas evidently believed in singing their prayers to the Lord too. One example of this is found in the book of Acts. You may remember that while on their second missionary journey Apostle Paul and Silas were unjustly arrested, beaten and thrown into prison to await a trial or something worse. They had been proclaiming Christ to the people in Macedonia, and while there they removed a demon spirit from a girl who was a pestering fortune teller.  This demon possessed girl earned money for her masters by telling fortunes to anyone who would pay. But, she kept pestering Paul and Silas’ calling out constantly “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved”. Although what the demon was saying was true, Paul could not let the Good News be linked with demon-related activities, because this would change the message of Christ. So, when Paul had finally had enough, he removed the demon that was shouting out and harassing them, which was the same demon that helped the girl her tell fortunes. Her masters were furious when the girl no longer had the ability to tell fortunes, so they grabbed Paul and Silas threatening their lives for ruining their business, and then the other merchants turned against them too. A mob quickly formed and then the city officials ordered Paul and Silas to be stripped, beaten, and thrown into prison. But even though they were thrown into prison and put into stocks, Paul and Silas were not defeated. Instead they prayed and sang songs to the Lord.

“Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, Don’s do it! We are all here. Trembling with fear, the jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down before Paul and Silas. He brought them out and asked. ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  -- (Acts 16: 25-29. NLT).

Despite the terrible situation that Paul and Silas were in, they had prayed and sang to the Lord and to the other prisoners. Their singing was a form of prayerful praise and was also a way to ask for intercession from God. God saw their trust and their love of Him, and He heard their beautiful praise and prayerful worship to the One who could change their situation. Later, in Ephesians 5: 19-20, Paul also encourages the members of the Ephesian church to “to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts. [Telling them to] … always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” How often to do you sing to the Lord when you have a problem or need? Maybe you could make a list of all the godly songs that you know that you could sing asking for help or proclaiming God’s powerful protection, guidance, or His past intercession and provision for the needs of people.

In the Older Testament, David, even before he became king, sang songs to the Lord. He put his requests of God into music and sang them to the Lord. Many of the Psalms were praises, but others were songs sung to God for help and protection. For example: Psalm 4 is about rejoicing in God’s protection and peace, knowing that God will listen when we call; Psalm 6 is about David calling for deliverance from trouble and his knowing full well that God is able to rescue him (us); In Psalm 13 David prays for relief from his despair, trusting that God will answer him (us) even if He doesn’t’ do so immediately; In Psalm 18 David sings about his gratitude for God’s deliverance and victory, as he tells those who hear his song that God’s help is the only way that we can be delivered from evil, therefore, we must call upon God for His glorious help; and David even sings in Psalm 26 of his loyalty to God, as he stands up to those who oppose him and God. Finally, we see songs of praise and worship sung by David and the Jewish people, such as Psalm (song) 136 which tells us that God’s endless love is why He deserves our constant praise.  There are 150 psalms recorded in the Bible and all of these are songs of praise, worship, and love, along with other prayerful songs of need, protection, provision, and needed intercession. David knew that God loved music and that God listened to the prayers that were sent up to God. So, David prayerfully sang his heart out to the Lord!

God invites us to praise Him and to call out to Him in our hour of need, despair, and hurt. (See Matthew 7: 7 and Luke 11: 1-4). Unfortunately, we are not always sure how to go about telling the Lord what we want to tell Him. But, David set examples for us. Like David, we can talk to the Lord through singing, dancing, and the playing of musical instruments as we pray to and praise the Lord with all our heart. In fact, singing to the Lord is often easier than trying to think of exact words to say. We just need to choose the psalm or the song that best expresses our need or that expresses the praise that we want to use to honor God.

I will end with Psalm 146 which tells us not only how great God is, but that God’s help is enduring and complete.
“Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord, I tell myself. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God even with my dying breath. Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When their breathing stops, they return to the earth, and in a moment all their plans come to an end. But happy are those who have the God of Israel (i.e., of Jacob) as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the One who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He is the One who keeps every promise forever, who gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts the burdens of those bent beneath their loads. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and the widows, but He frustrates the plans of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever. O Jerusalem (i.e., Zion) your God is King in every generation. Praise the Lord.”  -- (Psalm 146. NLT).

Start singing to the Lord. Let Him know how wonderful He is and also tell Him of your needs. God wants to hear your prayerful songs. And, if you haven’t yet turned your life over to Christ, sing out in repentance of your sins and then ask for forgiveness of your sins. He will hear you and give you Salvation. Then you can truly sing songs of praise to the Lord!

Friday, November 2, 2018

The Importance of Voting in the Mid-terms [Our Christian and Democratic Worldview is at Stake]







"One day Jesus said to His disciples, 'Let's cross over to the other side of the lake.' So they got into a boat and started out. On the way across, Jesus lay down for a nap, and while He was sleeping the wind began to rise. A fierce storm developed that threatened to swamp them, and they were in real danger. 
The disciples woke Him up shouting, 'Master, Master, we're going to drown!' So Jesus rebuked the wind and the raging waves. The storm stopped and all was calm! Then He asked them, 'Where is your faith?'" -- (Luke 8: 22-25. NLT).

We, too, have to have faith and believe that God is in charge of everything, including the storms of life. Recently, though, we have not lived as God wants us to live, i.e., as a nation that should be focused on him. That is why our nation is in a terrible storm. But if we are willing to do our part, I believe that God will give us another chance to be a nation blessed by Him and that He will calm the storm. But at the same time, we must do our part to keep our country focused on truth, honesty, and love. That is why we must know what our country needs and we must be willing to get out and vote for those people whom we believe will live up to truth, honesty, and love for our country and its people. 

Although it is always important to vote, this year it is extremely important for those who believe in our country and in our established way of life to get out and vote. Why? Well, we are at a crossroads in our country. One path will take us down the tried and true path of destruction and false equality that leads to poverty for the majority and wealth for only a few i.e., into socialism, which will eventually morph into communism as fewer and fewer people are allowed to be wealthy. The other path, the one that we have been on, leads to continued freedom, capitalistic opportunities, and the continued individual pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. But, if fail to know what we are voting for, if we fail to vote, or if we vote to allow the progressive liberals and declared socialists into the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as into our local and state governments, we will be walking down the path that leads to total socialism and eventually to communism. Certainly, if we fail to get out to vote for the conservatives who believe in democracy, capitalism, and the truth, we will then allow those liberals and socialists who get into office to lead our country into Venezuelan type socialism and capitalism. So, this election and the next one in 2020 are the most important elections we have yet to face. Please do not allow socialists and communists or the America hater, George Soros, with his billions which are funding Antifa and other hate groups, to take down this country that our founding Fathers worked so hard to establish. Vote!

Do you know anything about why or how America was founded?

So, why should we be voting? Well, if you or your children have gone to school in the last twenty to thirty years, you or them may not have been taught the truth about the founding of our country. What is that truth? Well, you should know that it was God who guided our founding fathers into writing the greatest Constitution that has ever been written. In fact, it is on the basis of this Constitution and the idea that all men are created equal by our Father in Heaven that we are to have not only equality, but the freedom that comes with it: i.e., the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And, for over 240 years, Americans have basically lived a life as close to true freedom as one can get. But in order to maintain that freedom, we have to get out and vote!

Yes, we have struggled over the years with a few areas of inequality, but we have continued to pursue equality for all, and we have continued to search for the truth. Up until ten years ago, our country was gradually making more and more progress with ensuring equality for all. Unfortunately, one president, who hid his hatred of our country to get elected, stirred up hatred and dissent by pointing out our past inequalities, which led people to believe that they were not making progress today, but that they were instead going backwards into more inequality. All the progress that had been made over the years was suddenly in jeopardy of disappearing as Obama stoked the fires of dissension and hatred toward whites.

Adding to this unrest and hatefulness, were the philosophical and even physical repercussions that we began to see as a result of the liberal teachers and professors in our educational system who over the last fifty years or so had begun to teach our students that our founding fathers were evil, manipulative, businessmen who had no altruistic bones in their bodies. These so-called liberal and socialistic educators had instead, been using our country’s past sins to teach that all white people still believed in racism and still believed in inequality for some people. These educators were either failing to teach the truth about our past and what America had fought against in WWI and WWII, or they were skewing the truth to fit their own agenda. Part of their agenda also included the introduction of socialism to students as the only way to make everything right and equal for everyone, with lots of hand-outs and money for all. The physical repercussions came about through riots and the physical refusal to allow those with different view points to speak on campuses. Only the voices of the liberals and socialists would be allowed to be heard. There was no longer freedom to have a different viewpoint or to speak about that viewpoint or worldview. 

Adding to the harassment of those with conservative worldviews, was the fact that many minorities and immigrants did not know the truth about our country’s past or even the truth about our present beliefs. They had been manipulated and lied to by President Obama and the liberal media over the last ten years. To make matters worse, they and the current college generation still do not know today that the main reason that our country has pursued equality and freedom for all is that we were originally created to be a free nation that lived for the One and only God, i.e., the Creator and God of the Universe. 

Knowing that God created us to be free, our founding fathers in the establishment of our country not only fought for our right to live the way that we wanted to live, but they fought for our religious freedom from Great Britain as well. In fact, our country was founded on the right of every human to pursue their own way of worshipping even if it included worshipping a god other than the true God that early on most people came to America to worship. That is because true freedom means that we have the freedom to choose whom we will worship even if it breaks God’s heart when people worship false gods and idols. So, our founding fathers put into the Constitution that our government could not force us into worshipping who we don’t want to worship. And, no one was to be harassed for their beliefs.

Capitalism and Democracy go together.

Our country was also founded on what has become known as a democracy which is based upon capitalism. Capitalism simply means that everyone has the right to sell their products for a price that another person is willing to pay. If the other person refuses to pay the price, then that person selling a product at too high a price will eventually go out of business. But, at the same time every person has the right to pursue a job or the right to create a business that will bring them a living, or a business that may eventually bring them an extreme abundance. And, as long as the person is not cheating, not being dishonest, or not hurting someone else, they can live freely, working at their favorite job or working at their established business; hopefully a business that will benefit not only the owner, but their customers as well.

Capitalism works well, because everyone has the chance to work as hard or as little as they want, and everyone has the chance to pursuit their dreams of becoming wealthy through hard work and through legal means. But, in setting up a government to protect the people who were living and working in the United States, it was determined that part of the Federal government’s responsibility in protecting the people of this country also included making sure that all the different businesses and different products did not hurt the people of the country. But, in order to not only provide safety, there was also was the need for taxes to be established, so that the people overseeing our safety and the infrastructure of the country could be paid. We needed taxes, too, in order to have an infrastructure, a military to protect the citizenry, and we needed taxes to build schools and libraries for the education of our citizens. Eventually, as our nation grew, and as it grew, we needed more and more government agencies to look after the nation’s interests, which also required more and more taxes to run the government.

The Difference between Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism.

The one thing that makes our nation different from many other nations is that we get to vote not only on how we want our country to be run, but we get to also vote on the people we put in congress who will determine the taxes needed to keep the government running. But, as power began to be the all-consuming reason for senators and representatives to want to be re-elected, the government grew ever bigger which meant that the government needed more and more taxes from the people. So, taxes were raised. But to stay in power or get power, lies and more lies were told by politicians so that they could get re-elected or so that some could get elected to have the chance at getting power in the first place. Therefore, it has become extremely hard to determine the motives of those running for office or re-election. That is why this has become the year of political scandals and the year of undercover videos outing the lies of the politicians. That is also why it so important for each of us to really read up about each candidate and then look deeply at what they say they support and will do, before we go to the polls to vote.

Until recently, most people thought that capitalism was great! Indeed, most people who have been taught about the true difference between socialism, communism and capitalism still think that capitalism is great. Unfortunately, over the last fifty years or so, our free educational system has failed to teach the truth to our students. And, a majority of professors are actually teaching and promoting socialism as the best way to live. In fact, our educational system has failed to teach our students the true history of failed socialism and communism around the world. And, our liberal and socialistic teachers have also failed to teach the students how to think for themselves or how to discern the truth from fallacy. Instead, the liberal and socialistic teachers have brainwashed our children into believing that capitalism is evil, so the students repeat what the professors have told them. Sadly, when our students get into college, the liberal professors, instead of teaching facts, require their students to believe what they believe or they will fail the students. In fact, most of these professors are liberals and/or socialist who want their students to believe what they believe.

It is so easy from early childhood through about age twenty-five to brainwash individuals into your way of thinking, if indeed that is really what you want to do. And, this is precisely what the liberal college professors do as they continue the brainwashing and skewing of the truth about our country. This is also why we have so much hatred spewed out upon our country and its citizens today. For, the liberal professors have basically armed an army of liberal students as weapons against capitalism and the truth. And, they are teaching their students to be proponents of socialism.

Socialism

The principles of Socialism were first advocated by Karl Marx (1818-1883), who was a German social philosopher and economist and Fredrick Engels (1820-1895), a fellow German socialist leader and writer, who was a close associate of Karl Marx. In the Marxist doctrine, Socialism is actually a stage in society that comes between Democracy/ Capitalism (Democracy and Capitalism is what the United States has believed in) and Communism. So, according to Marx and Engels, the social and economic stages of society would be Democracy/Capitalism, then Socialism, and finally Communism.

Although Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism each have a strong economic premise, it is important to understand the role of Democracy within Capitalism, because without Democracy, the economic principle of Capitalism could not be maintained. That is because Democracy provides a certain amount of freedom for capitalism, as Democracy allows the people of a nation to rule through fair voting and the exchange of ideas along with entrepreneurship which can benefit society overall.

Socialism, though, is an overall economic structure set up to rule and control people through the idea that there should neither be rich or poor people. There should only be people living together equally without waste and for the good of all. In Socialism, private ownership, once based upon capitalistic ownership and production, as well as on entrepreneurial enterprises, have all but been eliminated for the equalization of society. In other words, in the extreme, individuals can no longer develop and produce items to sell on their own, because all production and distribution is done by the government, so that supposedly everyone will have the same identical piece of the pie. For, in socialism, all members of society are to share in the work as well as in the products and the profits. Sounds altruistic doesn’t it? It also sounds boring unless you want exactly what everyone else has, which is basically very little. But it turns out that there is one group of people who will benefit greatly in socialism. The very rich will continue to be very rich, and they will not have to share. Also, if the production is not what it is supposed to be, then everyone suffers except the rich.

Democracy.

On the other hand, as opposed to a Monarchy or a Dictatorship that has only one person in control of the rule of the people, Democracy is supposed to be the rule of the people through chosen representatives of the people; not chosen because they are rich, but chosen through fair elections in order to make decisions for the good of the country and the good of all people. Moreover, the decisions and the rules that affect everyone in a democracy, including the rich, are supposed to be made through majority rulings.

But in recent years our true democracy has been dwindling away, because the minority has often demanded to have their way, and they no longer accept what the majority of the people want. And, in many cases, the minority has gotten their way. And, the minority is now trying hard to get their way over even bigger issues that affect all of us. For example, even though the majority of the people want the right to bear arms, given to us in the constitution, to be maintained, there are minority groups including liberals and socialist who are doing everything in their power to take away from all the people the right to bear arms. Now the liberal media is also doing the work of the minority for them by constantly beating the drums of “no guns” for anyone except policemen. Both the liberals and socialists as well as the liberal media are now foisting their worldview of a gunless society upon congress, as they constantly fight against our right to carry arms. They are against having guns to defend ourselves, and they want laws against having guns even if the majority of people do not want these anti-gun laws.

Socialistic and Communistic Worldviews versus Capitalism, True Freedom, and the Christian World View.

Some of what I have been posting at this time has been taken from a previous blog of mine written back in November of 2015. But I feel that it needs to be read again or read for the first time by those who didn’t get a chance to read it then, so that you can understand how important it is to know the candidates and what they stand for. Only then, can you make a good informed decision when you get out and vote.

Everyone needs to know that there are worldviews today that we thought would never again be part of the American culture. These worldviews came about with the advent of World War II in the late nineteen thirties and the growth of socialism and communism in the late nineteen forties and the early nineteen fifties. Because of the devastation of WWII and the oppression of those who lived under socialism and communism during the next few decades after the war, people could see what socialism and communism did to other countries and their peoples. They could see the bread lines and the poverty for everyone but the very rich. In fact, at one point our country was so afraid of the rampant communism, which was being promoted by secret communists and some educators living within the United States, that some in the government actually harassed the communists and anyone that did not agree with democracy and capitalism.

These were truly dark and shameful days for the United States and freedom, as McCarthyism reared its ugly head within our government. Everyone was afraid of communism because of what they were seeing happening in other countries as a result of the oppression by communism. Consequently, many people were harassed because someone thought they were a communist. Then Senator Joseph McCarthy decided to attempt to eradicate socialism and communism in the wrong way by ruining the lives of many people who may or may not have been communists. Consequently, America for a short period of time over reacted and oppressed those who were thought to be communists. Then, in realizing our mistake, we went overboard in the opposite direction, in showing that we were ashamed for what we had done, by allowing socialists and even communists to teach our young people in college.

Most true born-again Christians try to understand and accept the right of others to express themselves, but we also have to always seek the truth, while we work hard to expose the untruths, deceptions, and lies before they become the accepted norm. We also need to look closely at those who are teaching our children and make sure that they are not foisting their personal beliefs upon our children and students.

In the past, Christians have put their heads in the sand hoping that the things that are wrong in America will simply go away. But evil and those who are proponents of socialism, communism, and of negative ways of living will not go away. So, we have to understand what they want and why they want what they want. We also have to get out and vote so that our freedom and our capitalistic and democratic, and Christian way of life does not disappear.

So, why is it so important to understand the worldview of Capitalism? Well, in the Capitalistic world view, anyone who is willing to work hard, anyone who can think outside the box and come up with new ideas, and anyone who wants to succeed can start their own business if they are willing to work hard and do it honestly. A capitalist can make economic deals with other capitalists to create more jobs and to provide greater production for items to be sold. However, there will also be those people who have no desire to become business owners or entrepreneurs. In fact, many people who want to work to make a living, actually want to work for someone else. They do not want the headaches or the responsibility of owning a business, but they are willing to work to earn money and help that business grow. That is fine, because everyone in a capitalistic society has the freedom to work as much or as little as they want. Usually, it is the amount of money that a person wants to make that determines the job that they take. The job they can take is also dependent upon their desire and determination to get an education as well as their abilities and their desire to succeed. And because capitalism allows for free enterprise, there will always be those who succeed and there will always be those who fail. However, in a capitalistic society, a person can start over as many times as they want or as often as they need in order to succeed.

In the capitalistic and democratic worldview, some people will be blessed with initiative and or an entrepreneurial spirit, while others will be blessed with the ability to get and education and become lawyers, doctors, etc. Others will be blessed as housewives, technological innovators, or workers in stores or corporations. For, there is the freedom to become whatever kind of worker you wish to become, even if you just want to be a street sweeper (and there is nothing wrong with being a street sweeper). And, in a capitalistic society and democratic worldview, everyone has a chance to succeed if they work hard and desire it. But Capitalism is not a share and share alike worldview. Instead, it is a worldview that gives everyone a chance to succeed. We also need to remember that capitalism goes along with the Christian worldview too, for in the Bible we read that “Diligent hands bring wealth.” – (Proverbs 10: 4. NIV).

The Christian worldview fits in nicely together with the worldviews of democracy and capitalism because Christianity has within it an inherent caring about the other person. Christianity always cares about the freedoms of others. Christianity also supports the dreams and the fulfillment of the dreams of those who are willing to work hard and adhere to the laws of our nation. In fact, the Apostle Paul told his mentee, Titus, that “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.  -- (Titus 3: 14. NIV).

In the Christian worldview, followers of Christ are concerned for the unfortunate and help them in many different ways. Christians often feed those who lack food. In fact, Christians often start caring programs like “Hope House” that provides clothing and household items for just pennies and that gives food to those who cannot afford to feed their families. The Christian worldview is compassionate, caring, and encouraging; caring about the needs of those less fortunate.  But most of all, the Christian worldview cares about the souls of all those who do not yet know Christ as their Savior. For, Jesus said, “And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like Him who are lost.” – (Luke 19: 10. NLT).

In the Christian worldview, we care where others will end up spending eternity. And, we want everyone to develop a relationship with Christ through the repentance of their sins and their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as the risen Son of God. For, it is the soul that sees a relationship with God and His Son. We can reach more people for Christ through a loving and caring attitude than through isolationism and selfishness. But we cannot reach people for Christ if we react in hatred when we are rebuffed or are mistreated. And we cannot reach others when the freedom to voice our opinions and our knowledge is not allowed. That is why, if we want to reach others for Christ, we cannot let the lies of the liberals and socialists change the type of country that we have been given by God. That is why we must get out and vote on November 6th. We must elect men and women who want to tell the truth, who want to maintain our democracy, capitalism, and our country’s Christian worldview. For, if we elect men and women who are socialist into government positions, they can press their false beliefs upon an unsuspecting nation. That is why we must not only get out and vote, but we must mentor the younger generation in the truth of Democracy and Capitalism as well as the truth of Christianity.

If you would like to read more about the worldviews of Democracy/capitalism, socialism, and communism and how you can mentor our young people and others in the truth and knowing Christ, please go to my earlier blogs in October and November of 2015.

Salvation

And, if you do not know Christ as your Savior, I encourage you to pray and ask Christ to come into your heart. All you need to do is to understand that we are all sinners and that the payment for our sins is eternal death and separation from love and God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  -- (Romans 3: 23). But, with repentance of your sins, and the recognition that Christ is the living Son of God who died on the cross while taking yours and my sins on his shoulders, and by believing that He arose on the third day, having paid for our sins and having conquered eternal death, you, too, can be Saved for all eternity. “For, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  -- (Romans 6: 23). By repenting of your sins and by believing in Christ you can be filled with peace and the certainty that you will spend eternity with God and His Son.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For, God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”  -- (John 3: 16-17).

And Romans 9: 9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus as Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be Saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in Salvation.”

Christ said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and He with Me.”  -- (Revelation 3: 20).

For, “Whoever will call upon the Name of the Lord will be Saved.”  -- (Romans 10: 13).

Don’t let this time pass you by, call out to Christ and repent! Then, go and tell someone that you have been Saved. Your life will never be the same, for the glorious love of Christ will permeate your heart.

For those of you who are interested in learning more about Active Relational Christian Mentoring, please check out my book: The Three-Strand Cord of Active Relational Christian Mentoring. You can get the book through Barnes and Nobel, Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes.