A Christ Follower: The Journey

Below is a survey conducted by George Barna from the Barna Group regarding what parishioners really want to hear from their Pastors as they preach weekly from their pulpits. Three-Thousand were asked, and they were given more than a 100 choices.  What does the Holy Bible actually say regarding these issues, is very important to those who are sitting in the pews?  Here are the results for all to see.  I wonder what kind of reaction we will get from our "pulpits" across the western culture if they actually heard these results and felt the hunger of their people. I can assure you that what God fearing people, or the people of God, wish to learn does not measure up to what the PC or Political Correctness crowd wants us to hear.  If we were to address these with the Bible based discussions that are being sought, the PC police would start their name calling and vilify those who are speaking the truth of God’s Word in love about these highly important topics. I have n...

Guest Blog: It's been nearly three years since Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American citizen, was imprisoned in Iran for his faith in Jesus Christ. His wife Nagmeh, who lives in the U.S. with their two young children, is calling for Christians worldwide to join her in a prayer vigil at noon on September 26—the third anniversary of his imprisonment. Pastor Saeed has been repeatedly beaten and denied medical care, yet he continues to be a beacon for the Gospel among his fellow prisoners. Please pray for his health and that he will be released soon. Please remember Pastor Saeed, his family, and persecuted believers around the globe. We can be assured that our God hears the prayers of His people: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14) . Click on The Rectangle Above You can learn more about Pastor Saeed’s s...

     Many of us  of us "old geezers" have been around long enough to just about hear it all:  Enter into worship and we hear all the praise a heart could desire.   Be it in what is called "Traditional" worship, "Contemporary" or even "Blended" worship, words of praise are lifted from those who are gathered around in a sacred space.  After all isn't that what worship is all about ... surrendering to God, yielding our lives and being thankful or offering praise?    However, hang around this old world a while in the real world, and it is not long before we mere humans seem to think we know better than does God about how this place "should" operate.  Never mind that it was our sin that threw everything all out of kilter and brought sickness, pain and labor by the sweat of the brow to planet earth.  We come across -- as did our exponential numbers of ancestors before us -- having a better plan:  In the summer we hear it's to...

Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in the abundance of counselors there is victory Proverbs 11:14       Go it alone wisdom is limited, and it  results in a greater opportunity to fail.  Even when Jesus sent out His disciples, He did so in pairs.  He gave all twelve the boundaries for their ministry to be, but He then made sure that they did not go it alone. Even the one paired with Judas Iscariot, as well as Judas,  went out with Jesus marching orders as their guide. So to them what was to be done was clear, and what Christ wanted was also clear. If something came up that required thinking about the circumstances, both made the decision based on Jesus' wisdom and guidance. And they did not do it alone.  They did so together.      As the Son of God, Jesus knew all too well what human beings can do when left to themselves to plan and act. So He sent them out together. Being alone can really be challenging...

One of the great things about choice is that we can choose to  p articipate in a "friendly" discussion  or not. We can choose to be  at peace (which only the Lord Jesus  can provide) or not.  We can care  about people who are determined to be right or not.  And we can  choose to enjoy the comfort of  God, when the storms  of life howl around us, or not. Personally today I choose all the above formers rather than  the  latters because, in doing so, we choose life. This is  what makes  building our "houses" of life on  the rock of  Jesus teachings and grace so wonder-filled.  People  who don't know this awe inspiring  relationship with Christ  will be   unnecessarily buffeted by each imagined or real storm because they have QUICKSAND footing for their journey. ...

People who do not understand the power & love God unleashes when a grandparent or parent prays humbly, consistently and secretly for grandchildren or children have no idea what constitutes healthy or HOLY parental influence or guidance. Over life's journey, a genuinely loving grandparent or parent will realize how much of the journey is out of our control ... But never out of God's control. Wisdom, therefore, dictates we go to our "closets" and take care of the truly im portant business of offering our loved ones to God In prayer through Jesus who is The Christ and who is  LORD OF ALL. SoJourner.

Isaiah 53:5 He was wounded for our law breaking, bruised for our pre-meditated sins.  His punishment that brought us peace was placed on him, and by his stripes we are healed .      Well here is another of my favorite scriptures that is definitely good news. Straight from the Prophet Isaiah's mouth, he talks about what would happen to the Messiah.  Hundreds of years later all of what  is described in this scripture happened to Jesus. He was indeed wounded.  Didn't Thomas examine  those wounds in Jesus body before he (Thomas)  would believe? When Herod's crowd beat upon Jesus, he most assuredly was bruised.  Jesus was without a doubt punished and the whip lashing Jesus' back most definitely left stripes on his back. It really is interesting how this was foretold hundreds of years before it happened, and yet it happened down to the very smallest detail ... ad...