The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
Archive for April, 2008
So I was perusing the headlines of Fox News and saw this small article about a barroom church in Ohio and I was, well, dry heaving. The Apostle Paul’s words were probably taken out of context here… be all things to all men (1 Cor 9:22). Reading the article below will put the issue in a nutshell for you.
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SIDNEY, Ohio — Another round and amen! Beer was on tap and a mechanical bull inspired the sermon as a new church held its inaugural service in a western Ohio bar. The Country Rock Church drew about 100 people to Sunday night’s meeting at the Pub Lounge in Sidney, 35 miles north of Dayton. The barroom church is an offshoot of Sidney United First Methodist Church, whose head pastor says he’s been looking for creative ways to reach people in unconventional places. The church’s Web site for its new branch advertises "Top regional bands, pizza, wings, rowdy fun & a short message." The Rev. Chris Heckaman says people really seemed to enjoy themselves so he expects the Country Rock Church will meet weekly. Heckaman’s sermon compared staying on the bar’s mechanical bull to learning how to get along in life. |
I am all for reaching the lost and fullfilling the great commission, but this is not what I believe God instends. Location alone is not the real issue here, and the fact that there was a mechanical bull could be easily be overlooked. The reason for this being rwong is that the gospel is not really being presented. The gospel is not about "Your Happy Life Right Now" or "How To Succeed In This Life", the gospel is about us being falt out sinners, and destined for hell without a Savior.
The man who is tossing back some cold beers while someone speaks to them about holding on to the bull is like making it through life will not decide he needs Jesus desperately. After the motivational speach about bull riding the drunk man wants to get his turn on the mechanical bull, not go bnded knee before the Most Holy God.
The bible tells us that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus was holy, is holy, and always will be holy. I always here the argument that Jesus used to hang out with tax collectors, prostitutes, and the worst of sinners. This is pratially true, Jesus came for the sick so that they may be healed! Jesus did not come to drink beer, ride mechanical bulls, and give parables that amounted to foolish talk.
When Jesus spoke people would choose that day what they believed about Him. Jesus’ words cut to the heart, and He was clear that no one will come to the Father except through Him. He did not tell Peter and the apostles to go to the brothels and hold outreaches of good deeds, but go into all the world preaching the gospel, baptizing, and discipling.
Paul said it clearly to the church:
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another… But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:12, 16-26
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ… One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:1-2, 6-8
I only pray that the entire Body of Christ, especially pastors and leaders, make clear distinctions between bearing one another’s burdens and sowing to the flesh.
Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.
Solid Rock
Apr 18
written by Joshua Moran
Intro:
C#m7 (picked out) C#m7 – A2 – E5 – Bsus C#m7 A2 E5 Bsus You are my Solid Rock, in You I will stand C#m7 A2 E5 Bsus Though storms may arise, I count on You to pull me through C#m7 A2 E5 Bsus Help me to stand against the grain, and live out Your life C#m7 A2 E5 Bsus The enemy knocks at my gate, but I will stand up and I will fight! E5 E5sus A2 Bsus I’ll stand on this Rock, and fight the good fight E5 E5sus A2 Bsus I’ll live in Your Word, and shine Your light into this night E5 E5sus A2 Bsus I’ll take up my cross, and follow you wherever you go E5 E5sus A2 Bsus You conquered sin and death, and you saved, you saved my soul E5 - A2 – E5 – A2 – Bsus Copyright Joshua Moran Music. Please email me if you decide to use any of my songs in part or whole
I moved out of California last summer and for some good reasons, but this is probably another good reason to add to my list for leaving. The State of California has once again stepped over what I believe is the government’s place and is trying to criminalize parents who have the integrity to discipline their children through spanking. Here is an article from the Christian Newswire:
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Loving mother who spanks with a wooden spoon testifies how AB 2943 labels her a child abuser to be arrested and charged under the Penal Code
Contact: Campaign for Children and Families, Agency Contact, 530-405-4095 ext. 2
SACRAMENTO, California, April 15 /Christian Newswire/ — Despite protests from parents, California’s Democrat-controlled Legislature is moving forward with banning many types of spanking. On Tuesday, a bill prohibiting spanking with an "implement," such as a wooden spoon, little paddle, rolled-up newspaper, switch, belt, or brush, passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee, Democrats for, and one Republican against. AB 2943 by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, whose anti-spanking crusade made national news last year, is back with her proposal to add "the use of an implement" while spanking to the definition of child abuse in the California Penal Code. Other parts of AB 2943 that deal with actual child abuse are redundant with existing law. "AB 2943 will result in good parents being arrested, handcuffed, and charged with criminal child abuse," said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families (CCF), who brought mothers who spank with wooden spoons and little paddles to the committee hearing. "No state legislature has passed a bill like this, and no state or federal court has ruled that spanking is child abuse. AB 2943 tramples the cherished right of parents to raise their own children and removes children from good parents who occasionally spank their children to correct misbehavior." Voting "aye" on AB 2943 were all five Democrats on the committee: Jose Solorio of Santa Ana, Hector De La Torre of southeast Los Angeles, Fiona Ma of San Francisco, Anthony Portantino of La Canada Flintridge, and Curren Price of Inglewood. Only Solorio and Portantino were present to hear testimony for and against AB 2943. Voting "no" on AB 2943 was Republican Greg Aghazarian of Stockton. Neither Aghazarian nor the other Republican on the committee, Joel Anderson of El Cajon, was in the committee during the testimony for and against AB 2943. Anderson has no recorded vote on AB 2943, although he voted against the same bill (AB 755) last year. Testifying against AB 2943 was Sarah Berke, who has five children. Click here for the rest of this news release CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (CCF) is a leading West Coast nonprofit, nonpartisan organization representing children and families. CCF stands for marriage and family, parental rights, the sanctity of human life, religious freedom, and back-to-basics education.
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Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. – Proverbs 13:24
I understand the legislature trying to solve an issue with actual abusiveness in homes, but this is not the way to solve it. This proposed bill will not stop the parents who are abusive already. Take drugs for example, they are illegal yet we have rehab centers, jails, and halfway houses full of those who are addicted. The law is only as good as the people who observe them, so if an abusive parent beats their child they will still beat them regardless of this law. Laws already enable law enforcement and social services to put a stop to a reported abusive home, so what does this pushing of the anti-spanking law really propose? This bill is a testimony to the secularist, anti-Christian movement in small fractions of our country that want to see Christians eventually criminalized for everything they believe.
What does God think about spanking? As Christians we must pray, stand up, speak up, and do what’s right in regards to our right to raise children in a godly environment. Should we throw out the parts of the Bible that somehow offend us? Does the Proverbs scripture only apply to the Old Testament folks? I wonder if there were parents who abused their children in those days? The bible tells us there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). What eveil is present now was still present in the world when Proverbs was written.
So, let us pray that this anti-spanking bill does not pass it’s second hurdle. God help us if it passes…
Read this article about how this bill will not protect kids who are abused.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
So I have decided to be alert and post everything I can to expose the false teachings of Oprah Winfrey. If the article below is not compelling enough, then watch the video as well. Oprah has made it clear where she stands, yet she is trying to sway mostly female believers to think more "openly". Here is an article from the Christian Newswire:
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WASHINGTON, April 10 /Christian Newswire/– On her television show Oprah Winfrey has been pushing a new book by Eckhart Tolle called A New Earth. In fact, Oprah has now taken up preaching as a new past time and has determined in her own mixed-up mind there are now millions of ways to get to heaven.
This is so sad because Oprah is a hero of tens of millions of television viewers and she is expressing her own Biblical beliefs without any understanding of the Bible. Oprah has in effect denied the teachings of the Bible and of Jesus Christ by asking her viewing audience, "How can there be only one way to heaven or to God?"
When a lady in her audience asked, "What about Jesus?" Oprah defiantly answered her by repeating the question, "What about Jesus?" Oprah went on to explain how she had been a Baptist until she heard a charismatic Pastor make the statement that God was a jealous God. She told her viewers in her opinion God was simply love and God being described as a Jealous God made her really stop and think.
Don Swarthout, President of Christians Reviving America’s Values said, "Oprah Winfrey has in reality just exposed her own lack of understanding about the God of Christianity. God may be a God of love, but he is also a God of justice and judgment."
Don Swarthout said, "The point is there are millions upon millions of Christians in the United States who thoroughly believe what Jesus taught in the Bible and for Oprah to come out against that teaching so strongly is simply appalling. Oprah should really stop to think before she goes off preaching her own unfounded beliefs to the world on her show."
Rebecca Chadwick, a news contributor for CRAVE said, "All cults share the same premise; they misrepresent the nature of God. Let’s pray for Oprah and Tolle… and all those who are lost."
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How could we be so closed minded as to think that there is only one way… Because Jesus said so!! Let’s pray
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.
When I was reading Numbers 20 recently, I was moved to re-read the following verses:
"Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle." Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?" And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them." These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and through them he showed himself holy. "Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. – Numbers 20:8, 10-12, 24 ESV
As a young pastor, I have struggled with anger and frustration many times. Sometimes I get angry at myself for not being bold, not having the right words to say, or simply because I am totally in the flesh and blew it. I also get frustrated and angry when, in ministry I pour my heart and soul into what God’s Word says for both me and the people in the church, yet it seems like no one is growing, learing, or even listening. The passage in Numbers really hit me hard because I am no Moses, and I thank God for the grace He has poured out upon me and my family.
Moses did not need to consult the Bible, and read and pray for hours to ask God to answer the needs of the Israelites in the desert. Moses and Aaron walked to the the tent of meeting and got on their faces and God physically spoke to Moses and Aaron. I believe that the relatiosnhip God had with Moses and Aaron was so close that the grace for their disobedience was limited. They heard directly from the mouth of God!
Moses probably did what any pastor would be tempted to do after hearing from the Lord. Imagine for a moment a pastor who has heard every complaint from the church members, and that pastor has heard these types of complaints for years. Most of the complaints have to do with a lack of faith, and the pastor is wrestling with what to do next, and the Lord makes it clear what to do. Moses comes out and he comes with anger and strikes the rock, yet God told him only to speak it.
Moses at this moment perhaps was hoping for the most bang for his buck, hoping that this would be the last time the people murmurred and complained. The Israelites knew nothing of Moses’ disobedience at this point, they were just happy to have water again. Moses and Aaron knew exactly what they did wrong, and God made sure Aaron and Moses never entered the Promised Land. Was Moses and Aaron taking the full punishment for this disobedience?
I believe the people suffered more than Aaron and Moses did by simply dying… the people were going to be without the leaders they knew for forty years. God wants us to rely on Him wholeheartedly, and He will often use pastors, elders, teachers, and small group leaders to get His children to the "Promised Land". I see the message God was teaching me in Numbers chapter 20 being three-fold:
- Obey the Lord your God
- Rely on Him
- God appoints the leadership not man
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. – Hebrews 13:17
Moses was hard-pressed and lost his temper like any human being could or would. Why was Moses angry? He was angry at a bitter and complaining people. The people were being punished together with Aaron and Moses. When certain members in the church being to quarrel and cause division, the destruction affects not only the pastor(s), but all the people in the church.
In our culture today, we somehow have lost the fear of God regarding church leadership. There are abuses throughout church history, and there always will be until Jesus comes back, but this does not somehow give the believer license to somehow cause a rebellion in the Body of Christ. As pastors we must also be fully aware of what God wants us to do and say, and avoid fleshly reactions. I just pray that church leaders never lose the boldness to bring biblical discipline when it is called for according to Matthew 18.
I wrote this song about four years ago. I hoped that this song would encourage someone that they have everything to live for.
Lyrics and Chords Below
Someone To Live For
by Joshua Moran
Verse 1
Db
Have you ever sat in sorrow,
Gb
Ever wondered about tomorrow
Db
Have mapped out all of your plans
Gb
Just to see it crumble in your hands
Db
Have you ever solved your hunger,
Gb
For full abundant life
Bridge
Bbm Ebm7
Well I’ve got the answer, not gotten on my own
Bbm Ebm7
It comes from this Book of Hope, given to man…
Chorus
Ab Gb Db
To live is Christ, to die is gain
Ab Gb Db
Not on my own, but by His claim
Ab Gb Db
You give Him your heart, He’ll take away the blame
Ab Gb Db
Now you have someone to live for
Verse 2
Db
Now you sit inside of God’s hand,
Gb
Thinking life will be so grand
Db
Now you found out life gets harder
Gb
In the center of God’s will
Db
Have you doubted why you chose this,
Gb
willing to give it up
