Well of Death

The New Amazon Kindle

This is amazing! It's an electronic device that weighs less than a paperback book, but lets you carry over 200 books, newspapers, and blogs wherever you go. Also, you can download new books and newspapers using the wireless technology, and you don't have to be in range of a wi-fi signal. No subscriptions or contracts either! It would be really cool to have your bible, commentaries, and any other books you are currently reading in this device. You could simply pull them up at a moments notice. Click the link to view a video on this device. These are going to be huge!

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Something A Little Nicer...

Okay, so I admit my last post was a little graphic and repulsive. I took the picture off because I was grossing myself out looking at it, so I can only imagine how you all feel.

Anyway, tonight I'm posting something happier. First of all, my daughter (2 years old) got the opportunity to star in her first Christmas program! It was fantastic! Our church actually saw it's biggest attendance ever at 207, which breaks the previous record of 169 (they all came because of her, of course). We had a lot of fun watching the kids since they had worked so hard, and there were a few people that got saved. God really blessed us, and it was fun to see my daughter on stage. Have a great evening!

Ehud, my bud

Judges 3 [20] And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.

[21] And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

[22] And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.

I am totally convinced that Ehud and I would have been best friends had we lived in the same millennium. Truthfully, this has been my favorite passage in the Bible ever since I was a kid. There is something cool about being God's assassin, and it's always made me wonder if people know what they're saying when they say so tritely,

"You know, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!" Amen to that brother! That means He still condones cold-blooded killing (with restrictions of course). I just wish American law permitted me to make a living off of it domestically, because I would make a great hit man! Ah, well, some things just aren't meant to be. I guess I'll have to resign myself to becoming filthy rich some other way and live vicariously through my buddy Ehud. You go, man!

A Motivating Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights - in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?", I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here.
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve.

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me."

"I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile."

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home."

"I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother."

Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long."

"For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Semper Fi

Raising Children

It's becoming clear to me why God has set up families the way He has. Raising kids is an incredible picture of my relationship with Him and yesterday was no exception.

I've been having a battle with my son because when he wants something he likes to scream, hit, whine, cry, and demand it. We are trying to teach him that when he wants something he needs to do the sign for "please" (rub his hand on his chest). He doesn't talk yet, but clearly understands simple commands. He knows how to sign "please" and when he is in a good mood he will oblige, but yesterday I struggled with him for an hour because he refused to obey.

Sometimes I wonder if God doesn't feel the same way about us. He wants us to do something simple like be faithful in church, tithe regularly, or read our Bible daily but we refuse to do it. When we encounter difficult times we fail to see that maybe God is allowing those times to come into our lives to get our attention, and instead we chalk it up to "tough luck" or some other nonsense. What if God is saying, "If you just will obey me, I could start blessing you again!" I wonder how many of us are like my son, and how difficult God will have to allow our lives to get before He gets our attention. As for me, I don't intend to find out.

Your Opinion Counts

I'm working on a more professional look for the blog. Tell me what you think of the new banner!

Rough Day

When I'm having a rough day, it always helps me to remember that some people have it rougher. These guys make it look easy, but this course is incredibly taxing and will wear you out! I always felt like puking when I was finished. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. OOH RAH!

Jesus VS Satan

Jesus and Satan have an argument as to who is the better programmer. This goes on for a few hours until they agree to hold a contest with St Peter as the judge. They set themselves before their computers and begin. They type furiously for several hours, lines of code streaming up the screen. Seconds before the end, a bolt of lightning struck taking out the electricity. Moments later, the power is restored, and St Peter announces that the contest is over. He asks Satan to show what he has come up with. Satan is visibly upset, and cries, "I have nothing! I lost it all when the power went out." "Very well, then," says Peter, "let us see if Jesus fared any better." Jesus enters a command, and the screen comes to life in vivid display, the voices of an angelic choir pour forth from the speakers. Satan is astonished. He stutters, "But how?! I lost everything, yet Jesus' program is intact! How did he do it?!" St Peter chuckles, "Jesus saves."

A Great Marine Corps Commercial

I think the Marine Corps has some marketing geniuses working for them. I absolutely love their commercials, and every time I see them I think, "Wow, I didn't know it was that cool to be a Marine!" I really enjoyed some aspects of being in the Corps, but it sure would have been better if they played music like this while you were suffering, because it never seemed that cool at the time.

In a way, this has spiritual application. We can look at the lives of others, and even our own past and see the good that came out of a bad situation and how God worked in the times of hardship. Unfortunately, it's harder to recognize the value of these times when we are knee-deep in them. The next time you are suffering or going through a difficult time, try to think about this commercial and how your hardship may not seem glamorous now, but you will look back on it and see the good that came from it if you endure.

Bitterness

Just another reason to post brother DeAnda's message, "Shake it Off!"

Hokey Pokey Football

I'm going to incorporate this into my next sermon.

"THE NEXT TIME YOUR FLESH IS TEMPTING YOU TO SIN, YOU BETTER SHAKE IT ALL ABOUT AND TURN YOURSELF AROUND, BLESS GOD!!!"

Cliff Hanger

A blonde and a brunette were on a hike, they weren't looking and walked towards a cliff. They fell but luckily caught hold of the top of the cliff. The cliff was breaking and one had to let go. The brunette said,"I'll let go" so the brunette gave a lovely speech that touched the bonde's heart, the blonde loved it so much she claps!

Demotivators

Wow, I'm already depressed and those are just the "A's"! See more here.

Making Money With My Blog

I just finished reading a chapter in my textbook for my computer class about website publishing. As you all know, I've been doing A LOT of reading and experimenting with the web lately, because ever since I started my this blog I've been fascinated with the concept of earning income over the web. What makes it so interesting to me is that on the Internet you don't have to have a huge building, a bunch of employees, or a lot of money to appear "first class" and attract a lot of traffic. Also, there are no limitations to the amount of traffic you can get (unlike traditional businesses that must expand geographically in order to reach more customers).

The concept of earning money through advertising revenue and e-commerce is especially cool because you don't have to work regular hours. You can update your site whenever you want and have a company like American Solutions for Business handle all your product shipping and order taking. My friend, Paul Phillips works there and says that they create e-commerce websites for companies all the time. They will create the product you want, warehouse it for you, take the orders from your customers off the website they created for you, ship the order to the customer, and send you your portion of the money. All you have to do is get traffic to your site!

I'm actually going to be purchasing Adobe CS3 Design Premium because I want to take my web presence to a new level and see if I can use it as my primary source of income. I suspect that between advertising revenue, e-commerce, and free lance writing jobs I could make quite a bit of money. We'll find out!

Young Fundamentalists Forums!

Hey all, are you sick of the liberal weirdos over at the Fighting Fundamental Forums? Those guys are good for laughs but when you want a real discussion with like minded Christians it's not the best place to go. Now you have an alternative. Check out the Young Fundamentalists Forums! You'll be able to discuss matters like the preservation of God's Word in the King James Bible without being called a heretic. All you have to do is complete a simple and free registration to become a member. I'm hoping this will become a place where like-minded Christians can have some decent and meaningful discussions/debates/conversations about any issue they want without getting flamed. Start signing up and let's get the ball rolling!

Update: There are still some issues I have to figure out with regards to permissions, so you may not be able to post just yet. I'll let you know...

Link Love

Would you like to be added to my blogroll? I would be happy to add your link if you add mine on your blog. Simply comment on this post with your link. Thanks!

Bad Morning?

Good Search - Money For Your Church

Steve Peaks recently sent us an email about a search engine he discovered called Good Search. This search engine, using Yahoo's search technology, provides all the power of the larger and more popular search engines. The benefit of using it, however, is that they will donate money to your charity every time you search. If you set them as the default for all your church members, this can equal a couple thousand dollars per year. Your church may not be listed, but the process only takes a day or so for them to approve and list it. We've already raised $0.51, and it's only been 3 days (of course, I think there are only 3-4 of us actually searching with them :). Hey, every little bit helps!

Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD

2 Kings[15] And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.[16] And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.[17] And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.

Brother Andy Slabaugh visited our teen ministry last night and preached a dynamic message. He preached from the passage above encouraging the teens to be zealous for the Lord, for the next generation, and for the Gospel. It's so exciting to see young preachers who are picking up the torch that has been passed on to them and running with it.

The part that impacted me most was when he listed many of the great men who have recently made an impact in Baptist churches like D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Jack Hyles, and Lester Roloff. Then he said,

"Do you know what all these men have in common? They're all dead!" Wow. That is so true! And no matter how many books and audio sermons they left behind, none of it will do an ounce of good if another generation doesn't fill their shoes and take the message of the Gospel to the lost and dying world. Great preaching Brother!

What Are You Waiting For?

Jas. 4[13] Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:[14] Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.[15] For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Often we feel like now isn't the right time to do something for the Lord, or that when we are older, wiser, richer, or have more time we will do more. I'm here to tell you friend, that day most likely will never come. James said your life is a vapour that vanisheth away. If you are waiting for something to occur before you get busy living for Christ, you are waiting too long. Get busy now. Make Him your number one priority and find time for everything else.

The Return of Free Speech...HOORAY!

Okay everyone, I'm sticking my neck out by doing this, but I've just disabled comment moderation... 'gasp'!

Ever since I turned it on, you all have avoided me like the plague. That's okay though, I can take a hint. Because I encourage dialogue, I'm going to run the risk of people like the guy who cussed at me commenting here by opening it up to whoever feels like stepping up.

So there you have it! Comment away!!!

no more comments? 'sniff' (tear falls to the floor)

Go with the flow this Christmas...

It's always a challenge to keep Christmas fun and light-hearted since devastating things tend to happen to me this time of year. It seems like my trees always fall over, the garage door rips down the christmas lights, and I end up falling off the ladder. My goal this year is to "shake it off" and make sure my kids remember how happy their dad was, even while at the hospital in traction. I'm going with the flow this year...

A Future Preacher!

You can never start 'em too young!

C'MON!!!

Bodily Excercise Profiteth Little

1Tim.4 [8] For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

While some of us try to use this verse as an excuse to be out of shape, it is important to not allow temporal things (like exercise) take up so much time in our day that we don't have any left for eternal things (devotions, soul winning). There are however some neat parallels we can draw between physical exercise and spiritual exercise.

I've been recently on a health kick, trying to get back to the fitness level I was in the Marines. I'm realizing it's all about building habits. Eating right, working out, getting enough sleep; they are all habits that are built over time until they are second nature. The same holds true for our spiritual fitness. The more we do it and force ourselves to be faithful, the more we will form good spiritual habits.

If you struggle with good spiritual habits, try keeping a journal and writing down what you did every day for your devotions. Another idea would be to get a calendar and cross off every day that you successfully completed your tasks. Give yourself some accountability with a partner and encourage each other to be faithful. Keeping a good relationship with the Lord takes effort, but it will be rewarded.

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New Age Religions

Last night we went street preaching in Sebastopol and it was freezing! I got to bring along a couple of highly motivated, fired up teenage boys from my Sunday School class and we had a great time. As I preached to a group of teenagers who were hanging out around a fountain, a bunch of them started yelling back at me. I realized that I get more hecklers and scorners than anyone else. I'm not sure if I'm louder, I speak more clearly, or I'm just more obnoxious (probably the last one), but it seems like every time I preach at lease a couple of kids have to come over and debate me. This time it was a kid with his hair in dreadlocks telling me that my yelling was offensive and Christ wouldn't have done that. I asked him if Christ whispered when he preached to 5,000 people.

This guy's whole argument was that as long as you are doing what is right in your heart, Jesus is happy with you and you will make it to Heaven. He says Christians live in fear of doing wrong and not making it to Heaven. In my opinion, he has it backwards. If I had to worry about doing what I know to be right in my heart, I would live in fear. What if I did something I knew was wrong in my heart and died without fixing it? Since I'm saved, I don't have to worry about following my heart because Christ already forgave the wickedness of my heart when He died for me 2,000 years ago. Praise God that we don't live in fear! Sadly, many of our young people have been perverted by New Age religious beliefs, and the modern Bible versions they read actually promote these philosophies. I can only hope that there was one in that crowd that had a heart soft enough to allow the seed of the Word of God to take root. We will know in Heaven!

Mortgages

Right now is a difficult time to be a home owner, especially in California. Many of our friends are struggling to make the payments on their adjustable rate mortgages, and some have had their homes foreclosed. My wife and I bought our home about 6 months ago which is when the housing market had already begun to slow down. I think it was perfect timing for us because we got a house we could afford, but were still able to qualify for 100% financing and a low fixed rate (5.75%)

There are still a lot of mortgages out there for first time home buyers, so if you are planning on moving from that apartment or condo (like we did) and are looking for cheap mortgages, the internet and/or a trustworthy mortgage broker is a good place to start. God really spared us from the current fiasco by providing us with a 40 year fixed, 10 year interest only mortgage (we got the ACORN loan through B of A). If I was in an ARM right now, I would be up a creek without a paddle.

When it comes to finances, a Christian must always remember to put God first in any decision. If you make sure you bathe it in prayer, my experience is that He will help you avoid the landmines that riddle the world of money. Remember, honor God with the first fruits and let Him bless you out of His bounty. buy to let mortgages ~This post is sponsored~