Too Many Concerns

"Moses spent forty years in the king's palace thinking that he was somebody; then he lived forty years in the wilderness finding out that without God he was a nobody; finally he spent forty more years discovering how a nobody with God can be a somebody." - Dwight L. Moody.

"We have a tendency to think of God being glorified only in the manifestation of His mercy - He is just as glorified by His justice." - R.C. Sproul

"Too many preachers are more concerned about filling the church building than they are about filling the pulpit." - Steven J. Lawson

"The one question on the table, 'What can a dead man do?'. Answer: 'stink'. We cannot birth ourselves." - Steven J. Lawson

"A Christian is someone who shares the sufferings of God in the world." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown." - William Penn

"At the timberline where the storms strike with the most fury, the sturdiest trees are found." - Hudson Taylor

The Southern Ten Commandments

Some might argue that these southern commandments are much easier to remember.

1. Just one God
2. Put nothin' before God
3. Watch yer mouth
4. Git yourself to Sunday meetin'
5. Honor yer Ma and Pa
6. No killin'
7. No foolin' around with another feller's gal (or 'nother gal's feller)
8. Don't take what ain't yorn
9. No tellin' tales or gossipin'
10. Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff. 

Now that's plain an' simple.

And bless your little cotton pickin' heart.

Bible Illiteracy

Most Christians don't know a whole lot about the content in their Bibles. It is sad that atheists and agnotics know more about the Bible than the average Christian and this illiteracy can be solved by just picking up your Bible and reading it. One of the reasons that Mormon's and Jehovah's Witnesses are so successful in reaching and converting Christians is that they know their material and most believers in Christ can't adequately defend their faith.

I'm sure the idea of reading the whole Bible can be daunting but the Holy Spirit will guide and show you many wonderful things. Contrary to what most believe, the Bible isn't thousands of unrelated stories, and it isn't necessary to have commentaries when God is there and merely waiting for you to open His book and learn more about Him. The Bible is a love story of God's pursuit to get us back and bring you and I into an eternal relationship with Him. It’s starts with creation unraveled and ends with creation restored. The story of the bible is not primarily about all the things we must do to be good and moral people but what God has done to bring us back to Himself. Jesus didn’t come to the earth to make bad people better but to make dead people alive.

"There is a lot of talk today in 'church' circles about how little people know about the Bible....Biblical illiteracy is not a new trend. It has been around a long time. The underlying cause is explained by the Apostle Paul (Romans 1:18-32)....It seems almost impossible to have an accurate concept of God apart from the knowledge of certain foundational biblical stories.

The biblically illiterate need to begin with an understanding of who God is, and where they are in relationship to their Creator-Owner -- truths set forth in the pages of the Old Testament. They need to know these things before we can expect an accurate response to what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross."

--Paul Humphreys, GoodSeed Gleanings, No. 6, Sept. 2000

Parental Rights Amendment

The right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is presently a fundamental but implied right guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Yet one of the main reasons that parental rights are in danger today is due to their status as implied rights. That's because the meaning of an implied right is never entirely stable. Since parental rights are implied rights, the Court is free to redefine their meaning whenever it wishes. With international law poised to reposition parental rights into mere responsibilities, essentially robbing parents of their rightful place in a child’s life, the parental role and child-parent relationship is more endangered than ever before.

Though they seem effective on the surface, both state constitutional amendments and state laws protecting parental rights are insufficient to fully protect the right of parents to raise their children, for the simple reason that the US Constitution places treaties in a superior position in relation to state laws and constitutions. Additionally, the federal courts can undo any state level effort.

However, if the Parental Rights Amendment passes successfully, the right of parents to raise their children will become an explicit right and receive the highest protection in the federal courts. As an explicit right placed within the black-and-white text of the Constitution, the right of parents to raise their children will be protected by the federal courts as a fundamental right. This will place parental rights in an undeniably superior position to any treaty obligation entered into by the United States—overcoming the threat of international law, and guaranteeing the long-term protection and preservation of parental rights.

Join the fight

Help Me Get Rich

by Lee Stranahan

I’m looking for some advice. It’s about money.

I don’t need to tell you that times are tough. It seems like half the experts think we are about to plunge into the second part of a double-dip recession and the other half think that we’re there already. Like a lot of people, the week to week struggle is tiring me out and it’s not just about me, either. I have a wife and kids to think about, too.

I won’t lie; the idea of getting $50,000 tax-free sounds pretty good to me.

I know exactly how I can get it, too. It wouldn’t take more than a few hours of work. All I need to do is fill out some forms and talk about the time that my sweet, dearly departed mother tried to get a farm loan from the USDA.

You may be thinking that it sounds too good to be true.

Trust me, it’s not. This is the real deal. I’ve been working on a documentary about the USDA’s “black farmers” settlement for months now. I’ve interviewed dozens of people and it’s very clear that you can collect a $50,000 check if you know how to fill out the paperwork correctly. And I know how to fill that paperwork out.

Basically, you tell the USDA that you or a relative attempted to farm during a certain period of time but that you or the relative were a victim of discrimination and the USDA didn’t even give out the loan paperwork. No proof one way or another. The claim is judged by an “adjudicator” who looks at your paperwork and if it seems specific, detailed and believable, they approve the claim and you collect a $50,000 check tax-free.

In the Pigford black farmers settlement, over 15,000 people collected these checks and I’ve been told by a number of people that over 80% of them collected on this “attempted to farm” standard. If you’re still skeptical, here’s the official government accounting. The U.S. government paid out over billion dollars in claims and most of it didn’t go to farmers.

“Great, but I’m not only not a farmer but I’m not even African-American.” Keep reading. We’ve got that covered.

Since I’m not black, I couldn’t file under Pigford or the new Pigford 2 legislation. Sure, some white people actually did collect under Pigford by providing farm information for a black claimant and then splitting the money. Sure, the lawyers and adjudicators were mostly white and they made out like bandits, too. But let’s ignore the whole race issue.

The “black farmers” settlement was such a success that the lawyers realized they could create an entirely new settlement that almost everyone can qualify for. Me, you, everyone. All you need is a mother.

The government created a new discrimination settlement for “woman farmers.” They put up a website about it, too – FarmerClaims.gov — and as much as people complain about the quality of government services, this one even has a toll-free number that’s open from nine in the morning till eight at night.

And if you’re still sitting here scratching your head and thinking that the ‘attempted to farm’ thing must be too good to be true, just visit that website. It’s the official government site and look what it says in the FAQ.

I went into the USDA office and they wouldn’t provide me an application, so I don’t have a denial letter or anything from USDA. Am I eligible for a claim and if so what do I need to provide?

You may be eligible to submit a claim depending on your specific circumstances. You may request a claims package and review the eligibility criteria contained in the claims package. If you have questions, you may consult with counsel or another legal service provider.

Right there in black and white. Fifty thousand tax free dollars, ripe for the taking. Request a claims packet, toll free.

Stop judging.

I don’t normally think this way but like I said, times are tough. It’s not my fault that the government got the economy in this big mess. Lots of people seem to be taking advantage of it, too. Look at the bailouts for the banks and the auto industry. That’s billions of dollars, not a measly $50,000. Maybe this is MY little bailout. Right?

And now that I think about it, $50,000 might sound like a lot but really it isn’t that much. It’s not like you can buy a house or anything. We rent and my wife would sure like to own a house.

Wait! My wife! I need to check and see if she went to the USDA office, too. That would be another $50,000 free and clear. And if my wife went to try to farm, there is a pretty good chance that her mother went as well. And probably her late grandmother, too. Now we’re up to about $200,000 and starting to sound like real money. We may have to split some of that with her mom. Whatever, we’ll work that out.

It occurs to me that since we’re splitting money, that my ex-wife might want to know about the settlement as well. Her two sisters would definitely be interested and I believe when their mom passed away a couple years ago, they might remember something she said about trying to get a USDA loan but those awful people wouldn’t even give her paperwork.

I actually do know quite a bit about the mistakes you can make filling out this paperwork and how to avoid them, so I’m really be doing my ex and her family a big service by helping them through the process. Collecting is easy when you know how.

Oh! You know what? I could actually help total strangers fill out the paperwork. I mean, I wouldn’t do it for them or anything. I wouldn’t lie for them. I’d just do what I’m doing here and explain the opportunity, then tell people the right way to fill out the paperwork if they want get their own $50,000 check.

Would you pay $100 to learn how to make $50,000? Of course you would. That’s simple math. I bet there are thousands of people across the country would pay for a seminar or join an organization that helped them out.

It’s not like the government is out there prosecuting anybody for this. That ought to tell you something. And it’s also not like the media is covering the story in any way. Even a lot of people who know about the farmers settlements just shrug their shoulders. Nobody’s getting busted. Just business as usual, right? People complain about tax dollars being wasted every day. It just goes in one ear and out the other for all of us and this is just a drop in the bucket. A couple of billion dollars. Look at how much money the government spends on other stuff. Trillions. They won’t even notice if my family takes a quarter million or so.

Huh. When I started this, I thought I’d be asking for advice. Now that I think about it, I guess that I don’t really have any questions at all.

The Object of Our Faith

Some people say faith moves mountains. That is not true. God moves mountains.

Faith is no better than its object. Faith in faith is nothing but positive thinking. If you put faith in positive thinking, you are going to become discouraged.

There are some who teach that if you will simply believe God for something, that He will give you that thing. That is simply not true.

If you try to apply that teaching to your life, after awhile Satan is going to say, "You really don't have what it takes."

Don't get the idea that because your faith is weak that your prayers are not reaching heaven. Weak faith in God is better than strong faith in anything else. Faith is what counts. It is not the size of your faith it is the object of your faith that really counts.

  -- Adrian Rogers, from the Love Worth Finding series

Living the Christian Life

Too often there is no difference between Christians and unbelievers. Here are some quotes that ascertain what it means to be a follower of Christ:

"To be right with God has often meant to be in trouble with men." - A.W. Tozer

"If your faith does not make you pray, have nothing to do with it: get rid of it, and God help thee to begin again." - Charles Spurgeon

"To bear the cross means that you refrain from doing what you have the power to do. You are qualified to fulfill your desire, yet you refrain from doing so. A person like this is the strongest person. The strongest person is not the one who is able to do something, but the one who is able not to do what he has the power to do." - Watchman Nee

"If you are under the dominion of sin, you are yet an utter stranger to the salvation of God." - Catherine Booth

"The popular gospel of this day, is the laughing-stock of Hell; it dare neither damn the sinner, nor sanctify the saint." - Catherine Booth

"Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right." - Charles H. Spurgeon

Hell and the Lake of Fire motivate us to witness to unbelievers but it is the love of God that compels us to share the Gospel with those who are on the brink of eternal separation from God and torment beyond measure:

"Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."  - C.T. Studd

"Hell is a lesson learned too late." - Unknown

Different from the World

Why does the Church needs to be different than the world?

"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you..." (2 Corinthians 6:17)

The church's mightiest influence is felt when she is different from the world in which she lives. Her power lies in her being different, rises with the degree in which she differs and sinks as the difference diminishes.

This is so fully and clearly taught in the Scriptures and so well illustrated in Church history that it is hard to see how we can miss it. But miss it we do, for we hear constantly that the Church must try to be as much like the world as possible, excepting, of course, where the world is too, too sinful...

Let us plant ourselves on the hill of Zion and invite the world to come over to us, but never under any circumstances will we go over to them. The cross is the symbol of Christianity, and the cross speaks of death and separation, never of compromise. No one ever compromised with a cross. The cross separated between the dead and the living. The timid and the fearful will cry "Extreme!" and they will be right. The cross is the essence of all that is extreme and final. The message of Christ is a call across a gulf from death to life, from sin to righteousness and from Satan to God. (-The Set of the Sail, 35, 36)

  -- A.W. Tozer, "Tozer on Christian Leadership"

Quotes on Compromise

"It is perilously easy to have amazing sympathy with God's truth and remain in sin." - Oswald Chambers

"The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions." - A.W. Tozer

"An unholy church! it is useless to the world, and of no esteem among men. It is an abomination, hell's laughter, heaven's abhorrence. The worst evils which have ever come upon the world have been brought upon her by an unholy church." - C.H. Spurgeon

"The chief danger of the church today is that it is trying to get on the same side as the world, instead of turning the world upside down. Our Master expects us to accomplish results, even if they bring opposition and conflict. Anything is better than compromise, apathy, and paralysis. God give to us an intense cry for the old-time power of the Gospel of the Holy Ghost!" - A.B Simpson

"All God's giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they believed that God would be with them." - Hudson Taylor

"Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, 'above all that we ask or think.' Each time, before you Intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!" - Andrew Murray

"Controversy for the sake of controversy is sin; controversy for the sake of truth is a Divine command." - Dr. Walter Martin.

Hot Under The Collar

The day was unseasonably warm when my husband and I got married and, to make matters worse, the air conditioning in the church wasn't working. Becoming increasingly uncomfortable in my gown, I grumbled during the photo session, then endured the receiving line, cutting the cake, even opening the presents.

But when I saw the mountain of cards to open, that was it. Smiling, I said to the guests, "You'll have to excuse us, but we're very hot and need to do something about it." My face grew even hotter when I saw my husband's look and realized what I had said.

  -- Rita Fischer, Christian Reader "Rolling Down the Aisle."

Moral of the story: It's not what you say but what people hear that's important.