Christ’s death and resurrection; It’s about the “why”.

John 10:18 tells us "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father."

These words spoken by Jesus have been written down for all to read for almost 2000 years. Yet, many people have worried about “who” killed Christ, missing the point of why it happened and in turn, taking God’s hand out of it. Genesis 50:20 tells us "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." So what men meant for evil by killing Christ, God meant for good. The “who” was not important; the “why” was everything.

The great preacher John Piper put it like this, “And since God meant it for good, we must look beyond human causes to a divine propose. The central issue of Jesus death is not the cause, but the purpose-the meaning. Human beings may have their reasons for wanting Jesus out of the way. But only God can design it for the good of the world."

What many fail to see is that Christ’s death and resurrection was so important, so miraculous that it changed everything; nothing would ever be the same again. Christ’s death and resurrection changed the Roman Empire, the very Empire that took his life. Christ’s death and resurrection changed his own unbelieving brother’s mind of who he was. A meeting with the risen Jesus changed the Apostle Paul’s heart to stop hunting and persecuting Christians; and turned him into one of Christianity greatest leaders and writer of much of the New Testament. Christ’s death and resurrection lead the apostles to continue to build Christ’s Church in the face of great opposition and persecution. Seeing Christ’s death and resurrection eventually lead most of the apostles to martyrdom because of their belief and love for Christ. Christ’s death and resurrection was meant to change us forever. Are you fighting that change?

Sometimes we may lose sight of what the gospel is about; we may get wrapped up in details that cause us to miss the meaning. Christ’s death and resurrection has changed our fate and given us new everlasting life. Jesus’ sacrifice paid our ransom. It provided our justification, sanctification and ultimately or salvation; it is our pardon and our purity. So, as you go about your days on earth, keep in mind the meaning of “why” Jesus went to the cross, was crucified, was buried, rose from the grave and ascended into Heaven and act accordingly in all you do. Hope in the grace of God!

Thanks for checking in and God Bless >>John

Question: Are you of the world or just in it? How we fall short.

Be in the world not of it. This is a hard one for us Christians. We are told to “Be Holy, because I am Holy” by God in 1 Peter 1:16. We are to separate ourselves from the “Worldly” things and through our sanctification process we are to be more like Christ and not enjoy the things we know are morally bankrupt, like most things coming out of Hollywood and the secular music industry.

I think most Christians fall in the middle on this topic; not too much bad…but there is some in there. Some of us may be somewhat more discerning on what we consume on TV, Movies and Music. Some of you may not think about what you watch or listen to at all; well, unless you have kids and sometimes you will filter their entertainment (hopefully).

Now I would hope anyone with children would be monitoring what they watch, listen to and what they go see at the movie theater. It does take more time to block channels, check on the music they listen to, install a filter for the internet and read about the movie they are going to see with friends. These are the basic things you should do to protect your kids, because society does not care. If you don’t believe me, just watch a PG-13 movie and see the nonsense they put in for “entertainment” value and if you need me to tell you what is on the internet, then you should not have kids.

I have gone the long way round to get to this point, if those of us who do all this filtering for our kids find it important, why is our filter for ourselves not better? If we truly believe that the content is not good, why is it okay for us? Why are we still watching shows that are inappropriate? There are some shows that are perfectly fine, but there are movies, TV shows and music that just plain glorify sin and sinful lifestyles. Now, a show having sin in it, is much different than a show which says, “its okay, here it is in your face nonstop”.

I hear about it all the time; Christians who see no problem with consuming these things which go completely against Christian beliefs. They justify it and make excuses for it all because they find joy in it and it might be too much work to find something else. Now if you go through all that trouble for your kids, what do you think they learn by seeing you finding joy in those things? You are saying, “You’re not old enough to enjoy this sinful, bad stuff yet…but someday you can have all you want like us!”.

John 17:15-16 says, "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

“Christ does not pray that they might be rich and great in the world, but that they might be kept from sin, strengthened for their duty, and brought safe to heaven. The prosperity of the soul is the best prosperity. He pleaded with his Holy Father, that he would keep them by his power and for his glory, that they might be united in affection and labours, even according to the union of the Father and the Son. He did not pray that his disciples should be removed out of the world, that they might escape the rage of men, for they had a great work to do for the glory of God, and the benefit of mankind. But he prayed that the Father would keep them from the evil, from being corrupted by the world, the remains of sin in their hearts, and from the power and craft of Satan. So that they might pass through the world as through an enemy's country, as he had done. They are not left here to pursue the same objects as the men around them, but to glorify God, and to serve their generation. The Spirit of God in true Christians is opposed to the spirit of the world. (Jn 17:17-19)” - Matthew Henry

Thanks for checking in and God Bless >>John

Live, enjoy life, love the Lord, your family and your neighbor.

Below is a small excerpt from Episode 8 of the Study of 1 Peter; Listen here:

The reason for conducting ourselves in fear is, the One we call Heavenly Father judges everybody by the same measure. We all know what our deeds say about our hearts right? We have all probably heard the sayings “actions speak loader than words”, “People will know us by our fruits” right?

Jesus used the same word for fear when He said, Luke 12:4-5 “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!" I don’t know about you, but this cause a little fear in me.

I am sure we can all agree that our deeds say a lot about our heart; even if you are not a Christian you probably think this. We don’t know a lot of really good people that just do bad things, nor do we know a lot of bad people that do really good things. Just to be clear here, I am not saying our works or deeds save us. There is only one thing that the Bible tells us will save us and that is Faith in Jesus Christ, but there is also one standard of judgment, our deeds.

If you think about it and realize that we going to be judged according to our work, then you are going to watch what we do. We should be afraid to do evil. We should be afraid not to do good on earth. Someday, we are all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for what we have done.

My friends, this “Hide and seek” of sin is not a game we can win with God. He sees all, he knows all, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the maker of Heaven and Earth and everything in it. You cannot hide from Him and He knows every hair on your head and every thought in it. This is why you need to fear God. This is not Santa Clause we are dealing with, though we may think of Him that way sometimes.

God does love you, but we should not live as if the blood of Christ sacrificed for us was not something of infinite value. Live, enjoy life, love the Lord, your family and your neighbor. Put others before ourselves and we will be good.

I’ll leave you with two verses to read:

Deuteronomy - 10:12-13 And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

Psalms 86:11- Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Top 5 Christian words that everyone knows

Being a Christian Blogger and Podcaster, I come across the same Christian words over and over.  We as Christians get all kinds of words thrown at us all the time. You don’t even need to be Christian to know what “our” words are when you hear them. So,  I thought would put out my top 5 Christian words that everyone knows.

5. Fellowship – Not one I use much on my site, but I hear it quite a bit; it’s when two or more Christians are in one another's company. So this is one that is getting harder and harder to have every day. Trying to get two open Christians together at work, where I spend most my time, is rough. I am lucky to sit next to a outstanding Christian gentlemen all day, in fellowship! We call it the PLZ(Platonic Love Zone)….yes, that is right…lol

4. Worldly – One of my favorite and I use it all the time. This is the word I use to describe the secular world or “being of the world”. This is a bad one to be!

3. Premarital sex – Well it’s technically two words, and it’s an eye opener in Church! I think the meaning is self explanatory. My advice, don’t do it. No, really don’t.

2. Sin – In today’s society, this is a moving target that everyone thinks is different for everyone. I am reading a book called the Bible that talks about not doing bad things. Yes, the rules are the same for us all.

1. Holy – I love this one and it’s a hard one to accomplish. God commands us to be Holy because he is Holy. This is what we should all shoot for. Want to hear more about being Holy? Catch Episode 8 of my Podacast on 1 Peter. Yes, I can plug my Podcast, it’s my list, ha!

Thanks for checking in and God Bless! >>John

How Are We to Fear God?

This week we will be studying 1 Peter 1:17-19. The topic will be  "How Are We to Fear God?" I hope to have the Podcast up by the weekend. If you have a question on this topic, send it to me and I will answer it in the Podcast. You guys are awesome, God Bless!

"And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." -1 Peter 1:17-19

Thanks for checking in>> John

BibleStudyPodcasts.org is a must listen!

You have to check out Pastor Toby Logsdon of http://www.biblestudypodcasts.org/.

This is one of the best Christian Podcasts I have found. Toby mixes it up with Bible study, Apologetics, and Q&A. I have listened to most of his Podcasts over the last 3 years or so; I have not heard one thing that has not been scripturally sound. He has a great speaking voice and delivers the information in a way that does not make you feel like you are sitting in a classroom or getting a lecture.

Toby discusses topics and theology that every Christian should know, be able to speak on, defend and witness to others. BibleStudyPodcasts.org has been doing this for a number of years now,  so there is a large library of over 300 Podcasts on many topics for you to pick and chose from.  Below is a list of currently running Podcast topics and Bible Studies:

• 1st John 
• Galatians 
• Gospel of John 
• Proverbs 
• Romans 
• Deconstructing the Deconstructors 
• General 
• Get the Hell Out of Here? 
• Job and the Problem of Evil 
• Knowing God 
• The Essentials 

I listen to these constantly on my IPod. Yes, BibleStudyPodcasts.org  is on ITunes also. This Podcast is a must listen.

Thanks for checking in and God Bless.>>John

Be a man, Biblically

Men, are you the leader of your family? Not a leader in the “Do as I say, or you’re going to get it!” leader, but as in a father leading his family to be Godly people way. Do you respect and honor your wife as your co-heir? Does SHE feel that she is respected, satisfied and happy? Does SHE feel you are a good leader, provider and spiritual shepherd for your family? Do your children see you as a role model of how a Christian, moral, honest, family loving man should act?

In relation to God, do you need to be drug to church? Does your wife have to leave you and take your kids to go to Church? What do you think this teaches your children? These are all question we as men need to ask ourselves and our families to get answers to. We as men cannot be truly Christian husbands and fathers unless we spiritually lead our families. If you don’t lead them society will, and we see what that leads to.

Men, ask yourself, “How do I change?”, “How do I become a man of God?”, “How do I become a better husband, better father and better man?” Men, these questions should always be on your mind. This change is done in the form of striving to change from a Godless, worldly (as in secular or of “this” world) man to a man of God. We are told to conform to the image of God in Romans 8:29,  “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” -  Ephesians 5:25

Below is a list I could not improve on from a sermon, “Marriage and Men”, by Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hills Church:

“Ephesians 5:25 calls men to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. Men are not ready to be good husbands until they are a part of the Church and understand how Christ loves the Church by taking responsibility for her and sacrificing himself for her.

Men you need to understand that a wife’s fears (1 Pet. 3:6) are legitimate; men dominate the lives of women and children, for good or for evil. Honor your wife:

Honor your wife in marriage. Take a wife honorably. Establish right priorities, and be a one woman man—absolutely faithful to your wife.
Honor your wife physically. Be strong for your wife, not against her. Be protective of her and present with her.
Honor your wife emotionally. Be emotionally present and intimate. Take her on dates.
Honor your wife verbally. Speak honorably to her. Speak honorably of her, when she is present and absent.
Honor your wife financially. Provide for the financial needs of your family, organize your budget, and be generous towards your wife.
Honor your wife practically. Consider her needs and how you can serve her.
Honor your wife parentally.  Be “Pastor Dad” by shepherding your children (praying with them, teaching them about Jesus, reading the Bible with them, etc.).
Honor your wife spiritually. You initiate and lead prayer, Bible, chats, church attendance, etc. Take responsibility for your church.”

 “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.” -  (1 Pet. 3:7). Repent.

So men, humble yourselves, speak to your wives, speak to your children, man up and lead your family for good, not evil. You need to step up and not be little boys; do the job that was given to you by God and rise up and lead your Christian family. If you are not doing the job, repent; commit yourself to being a man and a family leader in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

WANTED: Weekly guest poster for the John Christian Doe Bible Study Blog

Well hello everyone! I’m on the hunt! I am looking for a guest poster for the John Christian Doe Bible Study Blog. This would require one weekly write up on any of the following topics: Christian living, Apologetic's, Short Bible study, or other topics depending on content.

I would like to assign a day for your Blog to post(after my review), so that would be "your" day. If you think it will fit in here send it in and we can have a look!  If you would like to be considered, please submit a post for review to johnchristiandoe@gmail.com and I will have a look and we can move on from there. I know I have a bunch of smart Christian people out there with some talent to add to the staff writers here! Oh, and this is a non paying gig....

Thanks for checking in, God Bless! >>John

Prayers for Scott Bloom

Scott Bloom was recently injured in a car accident with his friend Kenny in late December 2010. The truck that they were in flipped 5 times on Kellogg Mill road(Virgina, USA) and they were both ejected from the truck. Approximately 45 minutes later, Scott was found 20 feet from the truck.  Read more>>

Prayer is a very powerful thing and Scott could use prayers right now. Please pray and if the Lord places it on your heart to reach out and help Scott please find the information on how to give on his website. 

Thanks for checking in, God bless >>John

Money lost, money found - News from King George

From Fredericksburg.com:

"These are my favorite kinds of stories:

Guy loses money two days before Christmas, guy is distraught. Had $700 in a bank envelope, which somehow disappeared from the time he left the bank in Dahlgren to when he arrived at his daughter’s house a few miles away. Retraces his steps, goes back to the bank, but their cameras show nothing.

Man thinks money is gone. And it’s a big chunk of change for a man living off disability, trying to support his daughter, who lost her job last year. He planned to buy her a used car with the money.

Then, nothing short of a miracle happens. ALMOST THREE WEEKS LATER, another man–who happens to be a crime-scene investigator–happens to spot some money by the side of the road. He calls the sheriff’s department, and he and the deputy scour the area for clues. They find a BB&T envelope, go to the local branch, and the teller immediately knows who lost a pile of cash. “Was it $700?” she asks. She produces paperwork to show her customer had withdrawn the money–35 twenty-dollar bills, to be exact–and that’s just what the crime-scene investigator found." read more>>

You never know who is on the other end of the line.

So last night after I wrapped up writing before bed, I start going through my nightly “lock down” of the fort. Alarm is on, doors are all locked, lights out; I put down those darn things that stop the cold air from coming under the door. Then I make sure I grab my cell phone (my alarm clock) before heading up to bed. Now as I start my ascent I notice, yet again, I have stayed up too late writing. “this is going to hurt in the morning”, then mid thought, RIIIIINNNNNNGGGG of the house phone! Oh no, the babies going to wake up! I run to answer it, thinking it’s never good to have a phone ring at 12:20am for people on either end. Panicked, I answer, “Hello?”… nothing. Again, I make a more pronounced hello, maybe they didn’t understand. “Heeeeelllllooooo?”… again nothing.

Now I can hear some rustling on the line, so I’m getting annoyed thinking this might be some boy calling my oldest daughter thinking this is her cell phone, which gets taken every night anyway. So now, I am planning my retaliation call and hang up. I go to see the last call on caller ID and NOOOO, I hit the ring volume and make the phone ring again EVEN louder. Darn new phones! Now after a quick listen to see if the baby is crying yet, its all clear. I find the “CID” button, push it and see the number.

Hmmmm, that’s funny, somehow this diabolical phone mastermind has spoofed my cell phone number and called my house! I check the time, yes, that’s the call that just happened. Well let’s take a look at my cell phone and see if my house number was dialed out, because there is no way they got in here, got my phone and called my house while I am holding the phone! There it is, my home number dialed out…..Man, I just cranked called myself. Now all I have to do is get by the wife without having to admit my buffoonery. I creep in the room and Victory! She is sleeping! None the wiser, so don’t say anything okay?

Thanks for checking in and God Bless!

Why I hate religion - Pastor Mark Driscoll

While the word "Hate" is strong, I find that the liberalization of Churches and of the interpretation of the Bible is killing Christianity, thus I am not fond of it. I love people, all people. I want them to come to Christ and if they are in Christ I do not want them to be lead astray.

The video below is form an excerpt of a sermon by - Pastor Mark Driscoll of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. I can't even begin to say how much I agree with this video. If only those who were damaged by Religiosity could have found a Church that teaches Jesus, who talk about Jesus and follow the Bible and not their made up version of what they want people to follow.

It is about Jesus and what HE did on the cross. Just like in the past when the Church kept the Bible from the common person, didn't want them reading it, so they could control the masses, today the truth is still being covered up. The Bible is there for us all to read, for us all to absorb, learn and meditate in. I ask you all to search, I mean seriously seek Gods word, pray and let that Truth poor over you and follow the narrow path it leads you on. The Bible will never steer you wrong, but be aware of those with something to lose, for they WILL steer you wrong.

Top 5 reasons Christians don’t defend Christianity: by John Christian Doe

5. They believe everything is okay. That society should dictate morality, what the masses believe is true and that is the way it should be.  Besides, what secular society likes is more fun, even though most of it goes against the Word of God right?

4. They don’t want to look un-cool. Christians are portrayed as buffoons and thoughtless followers on TV and movies. So they don’t want to look like what they see on TV. So at Church they are super Christian and in the world they are trying their hardest to blend with the non believers.

3. They believe they are saved because they said a prayer one time, so it’s not their fight. They believe that because they said this prayer and “got saved” they are good to go and there is no need to stand up and fight. Everyone else is on their own; they don’t want to get that involved. They believe that the gate is narrow, but WOW this path getting there is wide!

2. They really don’t believe this “God stuff” that much, but they hope some of it is true because that would be awesome. These guys are trying to cover all their bases. They want to be of the world, but if that God stuff is true, they hope that prayer they said was enough to get them on the “good” list.

1. They don’t know enough about their faith to defend it to anyone. Their biblical knowledge can be thoroughly questioned and shaken by a 5 year old. The extent of their Bible reading is on Bumper stickers, T-Shirts, Facebook statuses and what their Pastor has said in funny feel good stories on Sundays. They don’t know why there is only one way to God or why the Bible is the inherent word of God.  So when questioned by a non believer who pulled some verse out of context to refute Christianity, they say “I have faith its true” or even worse “I don’t know”.

Thanks for checking in and Let’s all keep growing in our faith!!

The blessing the love of family brings us

Have you ever been on fire for God so much to preach and spread his word that it makes it almost hard to get it all out. I feel so convicted right now the words escape me; I don’t have the hours in the day to devote the time I want or need to. God has led me to pour this attention and love into my family, and I have never been happier or felt more blessed to have them. I see an excitement to learn from my children, which makes my heart overflow with joy. They truly are and always will be my greatest ministry and next to our Lord Jesus Christ, my wife and my children are the best thing to ever happen to me. Please take a moment to marvel in the splendor of what God has given to us in family, and recognize the blessing the love of family brings us.

Thanks for checking in and God Bless>>

When did Christians stop carrying a Bible to Church?

I have noticed ever since I started attending my Church about 4 years ago, no one really brought their Bibles with them to service. I found this strange, as I always did. Not that what I do is the litmus test for normal, well in my mind it is, but to most people maybe not so much and don’t even ask my wife…ha! I find it strange because the source of our knowledge about our faith lies within the pages of that book. We are to base our lives on the teachings from those pages  we hear about while in service on Sundays….yet most leave it at home as if they are going to see a movie and don’t want to crowd their seat up with “stuff”. 

Now do I think it is a sin or something to make a big deal out of? Well my short answer is no. Do I think not bringing your Bible to Church is a good thing? No I do not. Do I think it is indicative of the overall Bible ignorance that plagues this generation? A very confident Yes! If the only time you get your dose of Bible truth for the week is the hour on Sunday, you are missing the point of being a Christian. My Pastor has asked everyone to bring their Bibles every Sunday while we go through the entire Bible this year. He heard the pages turning after asking us to turn to a verse and said something like, “that’s a beautiful sound, the sound of Bible pages turning”. You know what? It was beautiful.

Why should we read the Bible and read it often? Because the Bible is literally "God-breathed", 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” In other words, it is God's very words to us. As Christians, I would want to know why you would not want to keep your Bible on you, if not everyday at least Sundays at service!

Early in my faith I found it hard to read the Bible consistently, but being the OCD freak I am, I took my Bible with me to work and I have done it for many years now, not only is it convenient,  but it gives you opportunities to witness, Amen!! Having my Bible on me more often, I believe, is one on several factors keeping me in God’s word. The largest factor is, I genuinely wish to know all I can about the contents of its pages, but honestly, sometimes I read it, well, because it is there. 

The Bible is so important that Jesus said of it, "Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" - Matthew 4:4. If we want to live life to the fullest, live the life of a Christian, as God intended us to, we must immerse, read and heed God's written Word.

Thanks for Checking in, God Bless >>John

Please leave comments if you have them, good or bad!!

First Cause? - God is the first cause

This is an older post I bumped up to the top again. This is simplified explanation of he Cosmological Argument, also known as the First Cause Argument.

• The Law of Causality says that everything that comes into being or existence needs a cause. It is also known that something cannot come from nothing. To put it another way, if there was nothing before us, there would still be nothing.
• The Law of excluded middle: 'Everything must either be or not be.' thus something is either material or not material. It cannot be both.
• The Second Law of Thermodynamics simply states that the universe (Material) is running out of usable energy

There are only two possibilities for anything that exists: either:

   1. It has always existed (immaterial) and is therefore un-caused, or

   2. It had a beginning and was caused (material) by something else

Nothing can be self-caused, because it would have had to exist already in order to cause anything.

Material is not eternal (having infinite duration), but non-material is eternal.

This being the case, the universe is material and IS in a state of entropy, thus it had to be made.  A causal loop cannot exist, meaning you cannot have infinite regression, there had to be a first cause;  thus, only an immaterial Being could have been the first cause of the material universe.

To deny this, you must assert that either:

   1. Material is eternal, and thus defies The Second Law of Thermodynamics.

   2. That something can come from nothing, which defies ....well, get an empty box with nothing in it and seal it. I'll meet you in 50 years....I bet the box will still be empty.

 
All the evidence from science and logic points to an eternal, everlasting Beginner.

If this is not the best conclusion, what is yours?

Christians are accused of worshiping blindly. I have faith, and my faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't need to see love, Logic, morality, or thoughts to know they exist.  I see the evidence all around me. If you need to be intellectually persuaded, and there is nothing wrong with that, because most of us do. Examine the evidence of science, philosophy and logic listed above and think about the following:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”-Hebrews 11:6

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." -Matthew 7:7-8

Me worship for the "me" church

I had a rough day today and my friend Toby Logsdon posted this on Facebook....so I stole it. This is hilarious!! I could go on and on about this topic, but I will just let it speak for itself. New Podcast on 1 Peter Wednesday!

Have a little respect - Leave the War Memorial alone

I am appalled and yet not surprised. The open attacks on Christians is just par for the course now a days. If this was a Jewish or Muslim symbol there be no one saying a word.


"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it." -Matt. 7:13


Taken from CNN.com : "A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a cross displayed on public property for nearly a century is unconstitutional.

Three versions of the Christian symbol have been erected atop 822-foot Mount Soledad in the posh La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, since 1913.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the argument that the cross is solely a memorial.

Photo taken from CNN.com

The current 43-foot cross was erected in 1954 in honor of Korean War veterans and has been the subject of near constant judicial back and forth since 1989, when two Vietnam War veterans filed suit against the city, saying it violated the California Constitution's "No Preference" clause.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the argument that the cross is solely a memorial."
Read More >>

What I have learned from listeners...

What I have learned from some of my listeners of my Podcast who write in with questions is that they do believe in God, they believe Jesus is our Lord and Savior but when it comes to believing completely in the Bible, it then gets blurry. The secular movement to discredit the Bible as some old book with some good ideas but mostly outdated archaic gibberish has taken a foothold in many Christians.

Hollywood and the secular movement have really taken an aggressive stance and have attacked the intellect of the Christian. The Atheistic views of people like Bill Maher, Penn Jillette and others have a very large stage and they like to paint Christians as much less intelligent for believing what we do. They chose parts of the Bible and attempt to ridicule them out of context to make Christians look foolish or hateful. To the unknowing or immature Christian this can be devastating to their faith.

Secular Humanist or Atheist easily break apart a Christian who believes but has no idea why. They chip away at the Christian who does not know the facts of our faith and the evidence there is supporting what we believe. Many Christians just do not know about the very large amount of data there is supporting the inerrancy of the bible. The sad part is most of the information they get about the Bible (from a Historical standpoint) is from the History channel or from others attacking the Bible.

There is a very large void in Biblical knowledge in America, but even having knowledge of the stories of the Bible and not believing they are real is just not enough and it misses the point. This is where learning about not only the stories and lessons in the Bible but how those stories and lessons came to be. This, I think falls mostly on the Church, but ultimately it is our individual responsibility as Christians to study and seek knowledge of our faith daily.

This is where I truly believe the issue is, not knowing enough to overcome the mental block and ignorance of the Bible. Yes, it is true information and facts can only take us so far in faith, because you ultimately DO have to have faith. I think for some faith is only taking them so far because they are scared to ask the questions they need answered because that might make them a bad Christian. This is where my journey started. Questions…

I have been a Christian as long as I can remember, but I never really grew in my faith until I researched, studied and found the answers to the questions that are the concrete foundation of our Christian faith and the facts to back it up, we need to grow and defend our faith that is under attack right now in America. Let there be no mistake, Christianity and Christian values are very much under attack not only in America, but all around the world. Arm yourself with faith, love, knowledge and most of all Jesus.

Thanks for checking in >>John