Ending 2012 Clean

Are you clean?  I remember hearing those words from my mom when I was little and then the inspection began.  What was the big deal about behind the ears anyway?  Yes mom always now's best.  And being clean is a good thing...taking a bath or shower, brushing your teeth and don't forget deodorant.  Enough about physical hygiene what about your spiritual hygiene.  The Bible makes it pretty clear we are dirty because of sin. Even our best is nasty (Isaiah 64:6).  We may look good on the outside but God looks in (I Samuel 16:7).  It begins with the blood of Christ that will take away all your spiritual nasty filth.  Then daily stay clean by the washing of the "water of the Word of God" (Ephesians 5).  So jump in and take a spiritual shower and end 2012 clean!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwOEzKdXnaQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjysiv5i7kI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

He carries our burdens!

The sovereign God of the universe not only saves us from death (spiritual death) but He comes along side us and carries our loads of trouble, sorrow, grief and pain!

Psalm 68:19-20 ESV

Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.  Selah(pause and ponder that thought)
Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnWKehsOXu8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

What's Our Excuse?

In Acts 7 Stephen told Bible stories and proclaimed Jesus, for which he was promptly stoned to death....so what is our excuse in a persecution free country for not openly proclaiming the Gospel?   Afraid of what someone might think of us? 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYyNrgkKf6o&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7GBP4GoWB0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Still Complaining?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9pNeT55U_c&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The Solution To a Complaining Spirit?

Complainers abound in Scripture...as it would be, my personal reading schedule had me in two of those passages, Numbers 16 and Acts 6.  We may not always verbalize our complaints but I guarantee we all have had the complaing Spirit.  I am sure that some of us who live in the lap of luxury; compared to the rest of the world; were complaining yesterday about something we got or didn't get, or the food, or the snow that was being predicted, or.... Ever wonder if God would like to strike out at our complaing?  He didn't take it lightly in Scripture. So stop your whinning and complaining! I am glad He has more mercy than this boss!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4aJBcS2srU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Merry Christmas from me and my dad.  Can you say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Mary did you know?

The rhetorical question ask by the songwriter could be answered with a question......do we really fully comprehend and know?  To which I would have to answer...No!  All this inspite of the fact that we have the complete revealed Word of God.  Mary only had the law and the prophets.  Yet she knew how to praise the Lord in the midst of her personal circumstances that no one before her had ever experienced and no one ever will.  The song of Mary reveals what she knew. 

Luke 1:46-55 ESV

And Mary said,

"My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U2G8wsbXBo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Ahhhh! Giants in the Land!

You may have a giant in your land, but you can defeat the enemy in the power of Christ who already won the victory at the cross on your behalf.  Don't buy into the "nay sayers" who squall and whine saying the enemy is just to big and in turn miss out on Gods blessings...and intended place (which "flows with milk and honey") for you to be. Be a Caleb!

Numbers 13:25-33 ESV

At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, "We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan." But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." Then the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are." So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, "The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them."

Why God's Blessings

I often ask for the Lord to bless with me in mind; and not that asking for such a blessing is wrong; however the Psalmist gives us a new perspective.  Do you see it in the passage?  Bless me Lord and be gracious to me so that others may know you.  Lets refocus on others!

Psalm 67:1-7 ESV

May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face to shine upon us,  Selah

that your way may be known on earth,

your saving power among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you judge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon earth.  Selah

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

The earth has yielded its increase;

God, our God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us;

let all the ends of the earth fear him!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwiF3HE4cQ8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

OUR GOD IS GREATER

May the Lord rise up and defeat your enemy today.

(Numbers10:33-36)

And they departed from the mount of the Lord three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel.

Remember that He is greater than the enemy you are facing.                 

(I John 4:4)    

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.                                                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DylGqaXYJMg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Weeping to Joy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghF9y4Sy-mU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

What more needs to be said than this.....Thursday is the National Day of Prayer, pray that righteousness will be restored in America.  "Righteousness exalts a nation..." Prov. 14:34   The lack of God's blessings and the decline of America's prominance speak loud and clear. 

Religion and America's Educational System

by David Barton
The Founders believed – which the first federal education law acknowledged – that schools and education systems were a proper means to encourage "religion, morality, and knowledge" that was so "necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind." The framers of our government did not believe that encouraging religion in schools was unconstitutional; rather, they believed the opposite; only in recent decades have courts ruled otherwise.
The effect of that first federal law was quite evident in early State constitutions, for compliance with that law was a pre-requisite for the admission of a territory as a State into the Union. Therefore, when Ohio adopted its first State constitution in 1802, that document declared:
Religion, morality, and knowledge, being essentially necessary to the good government, and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of instruction shall forever be encouraged by legislative provision.
In fact, at the university level in 1860, 262 out of 288 college presidents were ministers of the Gospel – as were more than a third of all university faculty members. And in 1890, James Angell, President of the University of Vermont and the University of Michigan, reported that over 90 percent of the State universities conducted chapel services; at half, chapel attendance was compulsory; and a quarter required regular church attendance in addition to chapel attendance. Well into the 20th century, this remained the practice of State universities – a practice that was simply the continuation of the philosophy of education that had caused America to become the most successful and prosperous nation in the history of the world.
Early Educational Pioneers
Many of America's early educational leaders were patriots who had been directly involved in the American Revolution. They understood that if America was to endure beyond the Revolution, then the principles on which she had been birthed, nurtured, and developed must be successfully transmitted to future generations; and it was for this reason that so many of them became directly involved in writing educational plans, authoring textbooks, or starting universities. In fact, there were more universities established in America in the ten years following the Revolution than in the 150 years before.
One such early educational leader was Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence who also served in three presidential administrations. Dr. Rush had helped found five colleges (three of which still exist today); he was also a university professor, authored numerous textbooks, and was among the first Founding Fathers to propose nationwide public schools, for which he may be titled "The Father of Public Schools under the Constitution."
Like most of the other Founding Fathers, Dr. Rush was a prolific writer; and one of his educational policy papers was titled, "A Defense of the Use of the Bible as a Schoolbook" (1791). At the beginning of that work, Dr. Rush first declared:
"Before I state my arguments in favor of teaching children to read by means of the Bible, I shall assume the five following propositions: I. – That Christianity is the only true and perfect religion, and that in proportion as mankind adopts its principles and obeys its precepts, they will be wise and happy; II. – That a better knowledge of this religion is to be acquired by reading the Bible than in any other way; III. – That the Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than in any other book in the world; IV. – That knowledge is most durable and religious instruction most useful when imparted in early life; and V. – That the Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life."
Dr. Rush next set forth nearly a dozen reasons why the Bible should always remain the cardinal textbook of American education; he then closed his piece with a succinct warning on what would happen in America if the Bible were removed from schools: "In contemplating the political institutions of the United States, I lament that [if we remove the Bible from schools] we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them…For this Divine Book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws, and these sober and frugal virtues which constitute the soul of [our government]."Dr. Rush correctly saw the Bible as the only sure means to prevent crime, for it dealt with the heart – the source of all crime; he therefore accurately forewarned that if America ceased to teach the Bible in schools, then not only would crime increase but great quantities of time and money would be expended in fighting crime.
The New England Primer (the first textbook ever published in America) was originally printed in Boston around 1690 and was reprinted frequently over the next two centuries – including the 1762 reprint by Samuel Adams. Well into the 20th century, The New England Primer remained a common text from which American students learned to read. The Primer was the equivalent of a first-grade textbook. (Even though there were no grade levels in early American education at that time, the Primer was the beginning reader – it was where students began their reading lessons; so today it would be called a first-grade textbook.)
Over its two centuries of use, the cover page of the Primer would change from edition to edition, but the Primer itself maintained three core elements: the "Rhyming Alphabet," the "Alphabet of Lessons for Youth," and the "Shorter Catechism." Notice the content of the first core element – the "Rhyming Alphabet" – and recall that for two centuries this alphabet was a key part of public education in America:

A – In Adam's fall, we sinned all.
B – Heaven to find, the Bible mind.
C – Christ crucified, for sinners died.

The second key element of the Primer was the "Alphabet of Lessons for Youth." This section was the ABC's in a bold column running vertically down the page, with each letter of the alphabet accompanied by a Bible verse:

A – A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother [PROVERBS 10:1].
B – Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith [PROVERBS 15:16].
C – Come unto Christ all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and He will give you rest [MATTHEW 11:28], &c. 103

The third section common to the Primer was the "Shorter Cathechism," and it contained questions such as:

"Which is the fifth commandment?"
"What is required in the fifth commandment?"
"What is forbidden in the fifth commandment?"
"What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment?"

(It is noteworthy that for centuries, the Ten Commandments were taught in America's public schools.)
Not only was The New England Primer reprinted by Samuel Adams for students in Massachusetts but it was also reprinted by Benjamin Franklin + for students in Pennsylvania. The fact that Franklin was directly involved with personally distributing such an overtly religious schoolbook might surprise many Americans today, for Franklin is considered to be one of the least religious of our Founding Fathers. (While Franklin certainly is one of the least religious Founders, ironically, he was definitely more religious than many so-called devoutly religious individuals today.) Franklin had long demonstrated his overt support for teaching Christian principles in public education.
Franklin helped found schools in the 1760s in which African American students were taught not only academics but also the principles of Christianity. And two decades before that, in 1740, Franklin had helped found the University of Pennsylvania for the explicitly declared purpose of instructing youth in the knowledge of the Christian religion. Then in 1749, Franklin authored the famous piece entitled, Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania in which he discussed the content of the academic curriculum of the State's new university, noting that in its history classes: "History will…afford frequent opportunities of showing the necessity of a public religion from its usefulness to the public [and] the advantage of a religious character among private persons and the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern." Franklin – one of America's least religious Founding Fathers- was a strong advocate of teaching Christian principles in public education.
If there is any famous American from the Founding Era considered less religious than Benjamin Franklin, it certainly is Thomas Paine; yet it is striking to see what even Thomas Paine believed should be taught in public education. For example, in a lecture in Paris in 1797, Paine attacked the French public school system because of the secular anti-religious manner in which it taught science. Paine protested: "It has been the error of the schools to teach…sciences and subjects of natural philosophy as accomplishments only whereas they should be taught…with reference to the Being who is the author of them: for all the principles of science are of Divine origin. When we examine an extraordinary piece of machinery, an astonishing pile of architecture, a well executed statue or a highly finished painting…our ideas are naturally led to think of the extensive genius and talents of the artist. When we study the elements of geometry, we think of Euclid. When we speak of gravitation, we think of Newton. How then is it, that when we study the works of God in the creation, we stop short and do not think of God? It is from the error of the schools… "[T]he evil that has resulted…has been that of generating in the pupils a species of atheism. Instead of looking through the works of the creation to the Creator Himself, they stop short and employ the knowledge they acquire to create doubts of His existence."
Not even Thomas Paine – probably the least religious among the American Founders – believed that public education should be so secular as to exclude religious and moral teachings. America's first colonial educational laws, its first federal laws, and the declarations of many early American statesmen confirm the fact that the unique American approach to a successful education integrated religious and morals lessons with academic instruction. Subsequent textbooks demonstrate that this philosophy of education remained intact and unaltered for centuries.
It would not have surprised Dr. Benjamin Rush to learn that our academic achievements have fallen significantly since the secularization of public education, for he had long ago observed:
"[T]here is the most knowledge in those countries where there is the most Christianity…[and] those…parents or school-masters who neglect the religious instruction of their children and pupils, reject and neglect the most effectual means of promoting knowledge in our country."
The successful philosophy of education that characterized America for centuries clearly has undergone a radical revolution in recent years; yet it is a revolution caused not by citizen action or legislative interference but rather by judicial activism, with courts and judges suddenly prohibiting what had been permissible for centuries. Secularization of education is the new paradigm; but recent decades clearly demonstrate that the more secular education becomes, the less successful it is academically.
Apparently, many today are unaware of the massive and dramatic changes that have occurred in American education in recent decades; and too many others are simply complacent about the changes. Yet, it is important that every citizen today – regardless of whether they have students in school – be concerned and informed about the condition of education. As educator Noah Webster long ago warned: "The education of youth should be watched with the most scrupulous attention…[I]t is much easier to introduce and establish an effectual system…than to correct by penal statutes the ill effects of a bad system…The education of youth…lays the foundations on which both law and gospel rest for success." Every citizen should exert the time and effort necessary to ensure that schools are teaching sound content and providing a good education, and that those who teach in classrooms – as well as those elected to school boards and legislatures – are individuals who respect, honor, and embrace the time-tested principles of a sound education. And if the leaders and schools you work with do not embrace these ideals, then replace the leaders – or start new schools.
Imparting mere academic knowledge should never be a sufficient final objective for learning, nor should the secularization of education ever become acceptable. A sound education should instill the three elements long proven to be the basis of a successful education: religion, morality, and knowledge. These elements should be instilled not only in our schools but also in our homes, churches, and throughout our communities. For four centuries in American education, the three essential elements of religion, morality, and knowledge formed the basis of character and achievement; experience and common sense demonstrate that these elements still provide the foundation that will enable today's students to be the solid citizens and the great leaders of the future. It is our responsibility as citizens not only to protect the proven educational philosophy that made and has kept America great but also to do everything that we can to transmit that successful educational philosophy to future generations, just as our forebears did throughout the first four centuries of American education.

History of American Education was adapted from the book:

"Four Centuries of American Education" by David Barton.

The Black Robe Regement

Black Robe Regiment Pledge!

I believe that the overall condition of the nation is a direct reflection of the overall condition of God's people, and I accept that the pulpit is most responsible for the overall moral strength or decadence of the country.

I believe that God's inspired Word equips us for everyissue that arises in life, including not only spiritual but also temporal ones (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3).

I believe that it is the duty of God's ministers to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) on every issue, whether spiritual or temporal, and I will not let the fear of man (Psalms 118:6, Proverbs 29:25), the fear of government (Acts 4:18-31, Matthew 10:28), or the fear of possibly offending someone (Matthew 15:12-13) keep me from boldly proclaiming God's position on every issue of the day (Jeremiah 1:10, 6:27).

Therefore:

• I will uphold the Great Commission's mandate to teacheverything He has said (Matthew 28:18-20), including not only those things related to our eternal relationship with God but also all other things, whether cultural, educational, economic, moral, or political.
• In boldly addressing all these issues (Hebrews 10:38, Proverbs 28:1), I will not be intimidated by the criticism, anger, or ridicule of opponents (Jeremiah 1:17-19, 1 Peter 5:8), and I will even take contemporary items from the news so as to teach God's people His perspective on those issues.
• I will bring to light the hidden things of darkness (1 Corinthians 4:15) and speak out loudly whenever I see something that endangers God's people, whether the danger is spiritual or temporal, long term or short term (Ezekiel 33:7, Isaiah 56:10).

I commit myself to being a clear voice for God on allissues and will shepherd His flock on those issues, striving to follow the footsteps of my distinguished predecessors (the fearless Black Robed Regiment - so named by the British for the black clerical robes that ministers traditionally wore), whom distinguished Bishop and church historian Charles Galloway described in these words:

"Mighty men they were, of iron nerve and strong hand and unblanched cheek and heart of flame. God needed not reeds shaken by the wind, nor men clothed in soft raiment [Matthew 11:7-8], but heroes of hardihood and lofty courage. . . . And such were the sons of the mighty who responded to the Divine call."

In short, I pledge myself to be a faithful and courageous member of the new Black Robe Regiment. I will fearlessly proclaim God's perspective on all issues, whether spiritual or temporal, and extend the knowledge and application of His principles not only throughout my church but also across my community.

You can read more at www.wallbuilders.com

Blessings To Each Of You

The LORD bless you, and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Pick up a copy of Rolf Garborg's book entitled The Family Blessing