Do you hate them?

Today we learned about China. It's a bit smaller than the United States with twice as many people. It has a really big wall running down the center of it that took 20 years to build. The most practiced religion there is Buddhism. They do not have a President, but a dictator, who gets to set the rules and the people of China have no choice but to follow them... This dictator is opposed to anything Christian and won't allow Believers to share their faith with anyone.

These are just a few of the facts that my son Caleb and I learned while completing an assignment he had for AWANA. As soon as we were finished reading the little list of fun facts about China, Caleb looked at me and said, "You mean they don't know about the God of the Bible?" to which I responded "No, they don't". His next words were this, "Then I've got to go to China, someone has to tell them about God!". He was so matter of fact about it, as if we were just going to get in the car and drive there. I can't tell you what a joy it was to see. Though he did not know all that would be involved, he was genuinely concerned for the people of China and where they will spend eternity.

So, tell the truth, is that the first thing that came to your mind when I ran through all those facts about China? Did you immediately think that you should go to China and do something to share the gospel with the perishing? No, probably not. Truth be told, it didn't occur to me either. But it should have.

I once watched a youtube post by Penn Gillete (of the famed Penn and Teller duo), where Penn went on about a man who came up to him after his show and gave him a bible. Penn, being a staunch atheist, was taken by the kindness and gentleness of this man. But the one thing that caught me was this, he said (and I'm paraphrasing) how much do you have to hate someone to believe they are going to hell and not say something. If you are a Christian and you do not share your faith, then you must really hate people.

This was an atheist who gets it, do you? Do you share your faith? Do you take the time to stop thinking about yourself for one second and inquire about someone else's eternal destiny? Do you care? If your a Believer you probably said "of course I care!" Then do something. You don't have to go to China, you can go next door. You can go to the park, the grocery store, the Library, the gas station, McDonalds, anywhere, just go. I've heard it said that Mark 16:15 was a command not a suggestion, but I'm not sure many of us see it that way. Friends, we have been given the great privilege of participating in God's call of the elect. We GET to share the good news of the Gospel! We get to tell those who have no hope, that there is hope. If you have been making excuse after excuse for not getting out there and sharing your faith, then consider yourself officially rebuked! Repent and share the gospel, today.

A Heartbeat Away...

*This post was taken from an article I wrote several months ago on another forum, enjoy!*

Sleep is a precious thing, especially to those of us with small children, and even more especially to those of us who have small children and who are five months pregnant. It is very difficult to get comfortable and don't get me started about trying to roll over in the middle of the night. Last night as I tried to get some much needed rest, I began the chore of changing positions. You sort of have to give it the old heave ho'. You have to move in stages. First you turn onto your back and then to your other side. Doing this is a lot of work. Once I had successfully made to transition from one side of my body to the other, I began to settle in. I closed my eyes and became aware of the deep quiet that had overtaken the room. But then I noticed something, something strong and rapid - my heartbeat. I could hear it beating with such vigor and authority. It was a bit elevated due to the "exercise" I had just experienced by turning over (I take what I can get). But as it began to slow down, it to settled into a rhythm. It was deliberate and precise. I could not help but think of what a blessing it was to hear it. I don't have any health problems to speak of and I do try to take care of myself, but I couldn't help but think in that moment, that each beat of my heart I was hearing was given to me by Almighty God. He allows my heart to beat, my lungs to breath, my eyes to hear etc. Every moment I am alive is because of God's grace. I do not deserve a single breath. Yet, He freely gives to me life and health. So tell me friend, have you stopped to think about your heart beat? Have you thanked God for giving it to you? As a Believer, I understand why God has chosen to give me breath and a heartbeat. If you are not a Believer, why do you suppose God has given you a heartbeat? I believe he is graciously giving you time. Time to repent and trust in the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Welcome Humans...

Greetings from my computer to yours. I have been anxiously anticipating what I would write about in my first blog post. I wanted to be impressive, woo you with lots of fancy words that you would have to go look up in your dictionary. But then I thought you might not come back for seconds if reading my blog was to much work. I wanted to make the opinions conveyed to you worth your time and not a waist of it. I thought it important, even necessary, that I should set the tone of the blog from its genesis, then I remembered, I only have one tone and its quite loud (bordering on annoying).. Should I write about something mundane, like why I hate cleaning the bathrooms, or should I choose something deep, like Calvinism vs. Arminianism. Should I attempt to be funny, show my sense of humor a bit, let people know I'm not an uptight legalist. Or should I be serious and profound, show people I'm a thinker. After all, your first blog post is a big deal. Its when you establish your street cred. I heard it said best (in a country music song of course) "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything." (who knew I'd go that deep this fast..) So I needed to make this post memorable, leaving the tens and tens of readers hungry for more... That being said, I really just wanted everyone to know what I know, and that is this: Jesus Christ is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life. And no one comes to the Father, except through Him. The End.

p/s I really do hate cleaning the bathrooms...