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,

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.

 

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.