God's Perfect Will

  Hello all,
  Today I am going to talk about what I would consider to be a pretty controversial subject: God's will for our lives; or as some like to call it: our destiny. Many believe that our lives are predetermined for us and that whether or not something works out was just "meant to be". I personally do not believe this way and will explain why later on in this post.

  Let me start out with a heavy statement: I think it is safe to say, judging by how this world is, that God is not here directly controlling the world as He once was with the Israelites. Looking through the history of the Bible, God has changed His workings with man. When the ascended Jesus rose up, the new dispensation of the grace of God was ushered in. Before this, an animal sacrifice had to be made to cleanse sin. Then it was baptism, and now, salvation is obtained through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, believing on His name and making Him the Lord of your life by repenting of your sins. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
  Now of course, God is still with us after Jesus ascended, but we were given the Holy Spirit to dwell within us to guide us instead of the physical body of Christ.

  I said all that to get to my point...
  Many will argue that God must have a perfect will for us and that all of our decisions are made because they were what God had planned for us. Do you really think that God would plan for someone to become a drug addict, for them to abuse their family, to cheat on their spouse, or to be a homosexual? I highly doubt it. If God had our lives planned out for us, each and every single soul in this world would not perish. All would be saved.
And let's not forget to mention the fact that we all have a free will -- a free will to make our own decisions. God left us the Bible to show us how He wants us to live our lives. The Bible is His perfect will for us. Within its pages is God's plan for His children.
  If you want to know how to live a life that's pleasing to God, you have to pick up His Word and read it.  God's will is His word.

  Thank you for stopping in and may God bless you all,

Thankfulness

  Today I'd like to touch on the topic of thankfulness.
  In the hustle and bustle of today's world we seem to forget to thank God for the things He has blessed us with. It seems like so many people today find it hard to be thankful because they are always focusing on what they don't have or how hard they are struggling. Ask someone how they are and you'll get the never-ending story of how they could be better; but ask them what they are thankful for and you can hear the sound of crickets resonating in the background. Now of course, I am exaggerating.

  I am far from perfect, and sometimes I tend to forget to thank God for the many things that I have been blessed with in this life. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I take things for granted. However, when it really comes down to it, I have much to be thankful for. I have been blessed in so many ways, and that goes for all of us. As long as we are still breathing, we have much to be thankful for.

  "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." - Ephesians 5:20
  "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

  As Christians we need to take the above verses to heart; giving thanks for all that we have and stop fretting over the things that we don't. We need to learn to stop counting our bruises and start counting our blessings. To be as the Apostle Paul was - content in any state. 
 
  Have a great day and may God bless you,

The Instruction Manual

  Welcome all, I'd like to start today off with a few questions for you all.

1. Would you like your quality of life to improve? Even your physical health?
2. Would you like to see your marriage improve?

  If you answered yes to either of the above questions, I encourage you to continue reading. If you said no, I ask that you continue anyway and pray that I can change your mind.
 The simple answer to all of them is simply the Bible. I cannot make it any clearer. If you want to know how to live a life that's God-honoring you have to read your Bible. Especially if we are claiming to be followers of Christ. We should be delving into God's Word on a daily basis.
 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." - 2 Timothy 2:15

   Let me begin by saying that diet and Christianity go hand in hand. How is this so? Well first off, both your physical and spiritual well-being are a huge part of your over-all health. It also comes down to discipline; generally if you are disciplined in faith it will be easier to be so in the health aspects of your life as well. What does the Bible actually say about diet? Well, let's look at the Jewish diet in the Old Testament. My favorite example is that they were not allowed to eat pork, for it was unclean or 'not kosher'.
 "And the swine[Pork], though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you." - Leviticus 11:7,8
  The World Health Organization has actually come out and said now that eating pork causes cancer. How is this possible? Well, pigs do not sweat; hence, why they wallow in the mud. Well, due to this fact they do not release the toxins from their body as we do (yes people, it's healthy to sweat). Thus when we eat pork the toxins are transferred to our body. There is more to it than that but it's too lengthy of a topic to get into right now. As a Christian man, I do make an effort to practice what I preach. My diet is disciplined and I have chosen to not eat pork to benefit myself and my family. And believe me, I feel better than I ever have.

  I'll touch briefly on marriage, as I have already done posts on this topic which I highly encourage you to view.
  Marriage was designed by God for one man and one woman. A marriage that is founded on Christ shall not fail.  Now this doesn't mean that there will not be trials in your marriage. However, it does mean that two evenly yoked people founded on Christ will easily be able to over come such hardships. No marriage is perfect, seeing as there is always room for improvement. Even in my own marriage. And yes, my wife agrees with me.


  Long story short, we need to read the Bible. We need to be delving into God's "Instruction Manual" on an every day basis. It is by doing this that we can discover all the aspects in our life that need change and growth.


  Thank you for stopping by and may God bless you all,

Married Biblically

  Since my last post was about marriage, I thought now would be a good time to talk about biblical marriage; especially since it has not been that long since they made it legal for "same-sex" partners to marry.

  First-off, I find this to be entirely wrong, immoral, and disgusting, and I will get into "why" later in this post.

  Some may be saying that this is old news, so why am I posting about it now? Well, here are my reasons:

1. The Bible supports what I am going to say no matter how old the news is.
2. What kind of man of Christ would I be if I did not speak out?
3. It's better late than never.

  Moving on.
  There are quite a few verses in the Bible that talk against homosexuality. Here are a few of them:

• "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."- Leviticus 18:22
• " If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."- Leviticus 20:13
•  ^"For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine..."- 1 Timothy 1:10
• "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."- 1 Corinthians 6:9,10

  I have heard it said before that this "only pertains to men, but is okay for two women to be together." Wrong.
  Again, let's see what God has to say about this:

• "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature."- Romans 1:26

  Look at Sodom and Gomorrah for example. God completely wiped out these cities due to their sins. One of the biggest sins the people of these cities committed was homosexuality.

  So many people try to use the excuse that they were born that way or that God created them to have homosexual desires. I laugh at even such thought. Here's the thing people; read His Word. God has not and would not create that which is an abomination in His eyes. Need I even mention the flood of Noah's day?

  So then what does God say about marriage? Well for starters, it is to be between one man and one woman. Honestly people, God created man and woman, not man and man. He joined together Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.

•  "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female."- Mark 10:6.  
• "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."- Mark 10:7-9.

  Seems pretty obvious to me how God meant marriage to be and why He created man and woman the way He did.

 

  I must say that it is pretty sad how far this world has fallen from Biblical truth. We were warned. "But as the days of Noah were, so likewise shall the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days before the flood, they did eat and drink, marry, and give in marriage, unto the day that Noah entered into the Ark, and knew nothing, till the flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." - Matthew 24:37-39.

 

  Those who are reading this, I ask you to pray for this world and the state that it is in.

  I pray that you to will stand with the Lord when the time is come. Read His word and don your armor.

 

  Please see also: Joyfully Inspired // The Biblical Definition of Marriage  by Cryslyn Faulkner.

 

  God Bless,

 

Advice on Marriage

  Hello all,

  I'd first like to apologize about the fact that it's been over a month since my last post. This past month has been a pretty eventful one for my wife and I. Between work and other obligations, it has been hard to find time to sit down and write. Thankfully I have found the time once again.

  Well, my wife and I are closing in on our seventh month of being married; talk about a true blessing! Over these seven months we have had little ups and downs in our marriage, just like any other couple out there. But if one thing rings truer than anything else, it's that with faith in Christ we were able to overcome each and every one of them, and will continue to do so.
  I brought up this topic to ask the question: Why? Why were we able to do this? Some would say that it's because we are meant to be together and so everything will work out without any effort, as it is our destiny.
  My wife and I both disagree with this kind of thinking. I am sorry to be the one to break this to everyone, but there is no destined soul-mate out there for you. Although my wife and I do make a great team because we are evenly yoked, we both agree that marriage could have worked between her and another man or me and another woman. Marriage isn't this magical thing that just works itself out. No, marriage is a true blessing that has to be worked at, kept and maintained.

  The other night my wife and I were helping chaperone at one of my mother-in-law's homeschool dances. There I met a young Christian gentleman, who at one of the dances earlier in the year had discovered that Cryslyn and I had recently gotten married. He had approached me seeking relationship advice, and although the question caught me off guard, I did my best to give this young man the best advice I could.
  The biggest piece of advice I can give on marriage is to make it founded on Christ. For any good marriage to work it needs to be centered on Christ. You can look at this like a triangle (pictured below).

  With Christ placed at the top point of your marriage, the two of you will continue to grow closer together while at the same time grow closer to Him. If you are not fixating your sight on the Creator, you as a couple will more than likely look at life from a worldly, carnal perspective. Stating from experience, I personally believe that a marriage founded on Christ will not fail.

 
  Now, onto my next point. In our household my wife and I are partners in our marriage, though not on an equal level. Although we come to each other with decisions and talk things out beforehand, my wife knows that I am the head of the household, as it biblically should be, and she respectfully submits to me as she believes it is her place as a wife, honoring the scriptures as Paul wrote, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body." -Ephesians 5:22-23.
  This does not mean that I make all of the decisions, because if my wife makes a good point or has a better idea then I am more than willing to go with hers. That's where the partnership of marriage comes into play. In our marriage, we as husband and wife are to submit to one another in fear of God.
"Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."-Ephesians 5:21.

  I've often heard it said that a family that prays together stays together. I'm not sure how much truth there is behind this statement, but I do believe that as a husband and wife you should pray together as well as for each other. Prayer is a surprisingly powerful thing, though as I've said in previous posts, I don't believe that if you pray for something that God will magically give it to you. But praying consistently whether in times of joy or peril is something that is always sure to help in a marriage.

  As you can clearly tell, I have an amazing marriage that I am very happy in. After all, what husband wouldn't be happy when his wife is a God-fearing woman who keeps up our home with a clean and godly environment for me to return to after working out in a fallen world? I'd say that I am a very blessed man. ;)

 Blessings to all. I pray that someone was able to take something out of this.

Past, Present, and Future

  The past can be a touchy subject for many people. Some love their past and find zero fault in it, while others despise theirs and are ashamed of it; which when it rears its ugly head it can make some question how they could ever be accepted by such an Almighty Lord.
  When I first started my walk with Christ I dealt with this problem. I couldn't come to terms with my past.
  Although I pretty well have conquered that now, I do tend to notice here and there that something from my past or fleshly nature will pop up in my mind. Something that I know is sinful, yet it creeps its ugly head in every now and then to tempt me, whispering something like: "Come on, you used to enjoy this, you still could." These kinds of temptations creep up in a lot of people's minds, however, I choose to fight those temptations since I have chosen to follow Christ and His Word.

  Some would call that Satan trying to steer you from the path of righteousness. I personally don't believe that it's Satan standing there whispering in your ear, but I do believe that it's the human's sinful nature; their flesh. My father-in-law calls it 'flesh-talk'.
  In situations like these I find that prayer really helps to combat the sinful nature of 'flesh-talk'.

  Should we forgive our sins of the past? Yes, I think we should forgive our sinful nature of the past. Since we have been cleansed by the blood of Christ we have been reborn and given a second chance to make the right decisions. However, I believe that it is important that we look back on our past mistakes as a reminder to grow and steer away from them. Learn from them, but don't repeat them. Those sins are in our past, so we needn't allow them to affect our present and future.

  So,

 

 

"Then shall he also say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." - Matthew 25:41

  

  Let us always remember that no matter what Satan or the flesh throws at us, we who believe in the Lord Jesus shall prevail. Just read the Bible. The ending is not pretty for the devil and his followers. There is only one outcome for them.

 

Where's the Decency?

  Everybody knows of the classic, and sometimes hysterical "face-palm"; that thing you do when no words can describe how stupid something is. Well as I am doing mine, I have only one question to go with it. Where has everyone's decency gone?

  For those who don't know, decency defined is "behavior that conforms to accepted standards of morality or respectability." Anybody else notice today's clothing choices, or for a better word, 'lack thereof'? It's disgusting, immoral, and immodest. The saddest part? It's everywhere now. Let me give you a small story of what has set me on this little rant:

  Myself, my wife, brother-in-law, and parents went on a trip this last weekend to The National Mississippi River Museum/Aquarium; a family place for learning and fun, where I mentioned to my wife that everywhere I looked I either saw short-shorts or yoga pants. She told me to try not to look, and although I wasn't intentionally looking for them, it was hard not to notice when they showed up in my sight line everywhere I turned. It greatly irritated and disgusted me.
  On the ride back we were conversing about it and at this point the joke that "we came here with family to see alligators and fish, not people's back-sides hanging out of their shorts" was actually made.
  How sad is that? Of course to add salt to the wound, we stopped at Subway for supper on the way home, and lo and behold, the lady behind the counter was wearing short-shorts. And in a work environment of all places.

  Do you see my point? It makes me wonder a few things. 1). How can anyone dress like that and not feel weird or even naked? 2). How could any decent parent let their child out in public like this without feeling shame or guilt?

  I do understand that a lot of these clothing pieces were created for a reason and had an original intention:

• Yoga Pants - The name itself gives it's intention: to be used for exercise, preferably in a private area.
• Leggings - To be worn underneath a longer shirt or dress for extra style or warmth.
• Short-shorts - The only reason these were even designed is to attract male attention.

  Today, each of these are worn as everyday clothing items as if they were nothing more than a casual sweater. Yoga pants/leggings cling so tightly to the woman's body that she might as well be naked. In short-shorts, you're basically running around in your underwear with your back-side hanging out. In the Bible it is said that for the thigh to even show is seen as nakedness in the eyes of God.

  "...uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen." - Isaiah 47:2-3

  As a husband and man of Christ, to see this stuff upsets me. I am truly blessed to have a wife who cares about what others think and dresses modestly; choosing to wear skirts and dresses over jeans and yoga pants, which she finds to be immodest.


  Please see also: Today's Society // From Classy to Trashy  & Why I Chose Modesty
  Both of which were written by my wife over at Joyfully Inspired.
 

  Be Blessed,

 

Abortion: Murder or Not?

  One of the biggest crimes being committed in this world today is abortion. My readers may have different views on this subject, but I consider this act to be entirely diabolical and horrific.  The thought that over 25 million babies have been aborted just this year alone disgusts me.

  So many people seem to think that abortion is perfectly normal and acceptable, but as a believer of Christ and His Word, I don't find abortion to be "acceptable" at all. Abortion, in my opinion, is a murderous act. Therefore, it is unquestionably a sin.  In the Ten Commandments we are told that murder is a sin. (Exodus 20:13).

  To be a little more elaborate, here is a passage from Exodus 21:22-25 that explains how precious the life of an unborn child is:

  "If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished...  And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."

  I have heard many arguments from people defending abortion, so I would like to expatiate on a few of these arguments with my thoughts:

• "It's the woman's body, so its her choice" - Though it may be the woman's body concerning choices, it is no longer hers. Every human has the right to choose whether it should live or die, and by taking it upon yourself to make the choice to abort the fetus you are taking away this newly formed human's right.
• "Life doesn't begin until after the baby is born" - Who says? The fetus upon fertilization now has everything it needs to develop. It has it's genetic blueprint along with it's own DNA code, making the fetus a totally separate person from the mother.
• "I'm not ready to be a mother; I conceived after being raped" - I group these two together not because they're similar, but because my answer to them is. Though rape is a tragic thing and a child born this way may serve as a reminder of what happened, there is still an alternative to aborting the child. This goes for those who feel they are not yet ready or old enough to be a mother. Putting the child up for adoption is a great alternative. Think of all the people in the world who want to be parents yet cannot have children. Putting the child up for adoption not only gives them their chance at life, but could also help to build another family.

 
  Let's take another look at this. Imagine with me if you will:
  You are a 16 year old girl still in high school.  You're scared because you just found out that you're pregnant and you know that you're not ready to be a mother. You make the decision to have the baby aborted, life goes on. Years have now passed. You're now married with children of your own and realize the blessing that children really are. You now begin to grieve about the horrible act you committed to the precious child that you could have had.



  The Bible talks about how a child is human even before birth:

•  "For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." - Psalm 139:13-14
• "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee." - Jeremiah 1:5

  I leave with this argument: all humans have souls. For God to have known them in the womb, their souls had to be present. Thus making them human.
 

    

A Failing System

   I'd like to make a request to all my readers; please send out a prayer with me to the world around us that is so desperately in need of it. It is very sad to see how far the world has fallen from God.
   I receive daily emails called 'Two Minutes with the Bible' (I highly recommend you subscribe), and I'm sharing a snippet from one of the articles I received in my inbox the other day.

   A Bible test was sprung recently on five classes of college-bound 11th and 12th graders in an American public school.
   Some thought Sodom and Gomorrah were lovers; that the Gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luther and John; that Eve was created from an apple; and that the stories which Jesus told were called parodies.
   Eighty to ninety percent of the students could not complete the most familiar quotations from Scripture.
   The teacher, Thayer S. Warshaw, was understandably upset and rightly asked: “Is the student to study mythology and Shakespeare and not the Bible? Is it important for him to learn what it means when a man is called an Adonis or a Romeo, yet unimportant for him to be able to tell a Jonah from a Judas?”
   This writer’s heart is with that teacher and all who are awake enough to see that the Bible is disappearing more and more from American life. How can we expect anything but juvenile delinquency, the rapid general rise in the crime rate, the growing divorce rate, increasing dishonesty at every level of business and social life — how can we expect anything but these conditions when the Bible is flaunted and despised? This departure from the Word of God is bound to get us deeper and deeper into trouble.
   But whatever the conditions about you, you may have the joy and peace and light that comes from that Blessed Book. The Bible tells us frankly that “all have sinned” (Rom.3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom.6:23) since a just God must deal with sin. Ah, but it tells us also that “Christ died for our sins” (ICor.15:3), and that the believer may have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”(Rom.5:1).
   Read the Bible, especially the Epistles of Paul, who was raised up to proclaim “the gospel [good news] of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). You will never cease to thank God for having given your attention to this wonderful Book.

   Our school systems have removed Christianity from their education when it needs to be preached now more than ever.

   " For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
    That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
   That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
    And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God." - Psalm 78:5-8

A Call to Stand Out

  It seems as though, in today's society, that 'Christians' tend to have a desire to fit in and conform. I had a problem with this as I began my walk with God. Everyone seems to have a fear of being judged because they're different, even though the Lord directly states:
 
    ^"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." - 2 Corinthians 6:17

  I underline 'be ye separate' for the clear point that we as children of the Living God are not to be like the people of this world. Instead, we are to strive for perfection and be transformed.

  "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God" - Romans 12:2

  Our society is always careful not to offend anyone, EXCEPT God. We need to stop worrying about what the world thinks of us and start caring more of what God thinks of us. Like the Apostle Paul puts it: "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment." - 1 Corinthians 4:3

  God Bless, and stay separate!