In The News: Oil Pipeline

There has been much debate over a pipeline that could create jobs and improve America's energy independence. However, it has far reaching political implications, so it has stalled out because of radical environmentalism. As Christians, we are called to good stewardship, but that does not mean that we cannot develop and use the world that God has given us.

In the News: The President--He's Not Our Savoior

The upcoming primary and general election has brought a key question back to the forefront.  What are we looking for in a president?  That is an important question, but, in this blog, I would like to address another question that often goes overlooked.  What are we not looking for in a president?

Anyone that runs for public office is fallen and has baggage.  Even the best Christian representative is still in need of the grace and mercy of God.  We must take that into account when we elect our officials; if we don't, then we are only setting ourselves up for disappointment and future apathy.  No man will ever be perfect this side of death, and so we must not see any candidate as our potential Savior. 

A politician is not our Messiah.  He must govern with a righteous attitude, but he is not the King of kings and LORD of Lords.  Only Christ is our Savior. He alone washes away sin. He alone laid down His life for His sheep who were enemies of God.  No one else can do that. 

Therefore, when we vote, we must consider what an official must possess, but we must also know who he is not.

The King of Glory May Come In!

Christ is the King of Glory! He is the One Who has clean hands and a pure heart. He is the Suffering Servant who laid down His life for His sheep.

No other was capable of atoning for the sins of sinners, so let us be thankful that the LORD strong and mighty died upon a cross to set men free.  May we never take for granted the burden that Christ lifted from His people: their sins.

Self-Sufficiency And Being Home

Besides disciplined budgeting practices, self-sufficiency is a critical attribute if you want to be able to spend more time with your family.  Most people in America work extensively outside of the home to support a lifestyle at the expense of family (which often times isn't as joyous as it is advertised), and/or they are incapable of doing things themselves.  Even large complex tasks are simple tasks strung together, though meticulous at times. 

You may think, "Well, I can make more money at work and just pay someone else to do it faster than I can, which means I will save money because time is money."  However, that kind of thinking is the reason you have to spend so much time at work and away from family to begin with.  As a society, we are pegged into one or a small handful of skill sets will results in slavery to the 'experts', which are, ironically, just like you.  They too are pegged into a small handful of skill sets.

How does one begin to become more self-sufficient like the patriarchs found in Scripture?

1) Start taking on small tasks yourself.  If you don't take care of your own lawn, then start with that.  Over time, you will become both self-sufficient and efficient, and let your children help out.  They need to learn self-sufficiency themselves.  Do some research on lawn care, home improvement, mechanics, gardening, sewing, etc., and ease into it.  If you try to do too much at one time, you'll get burned out and frustrated. 

2) Don't let the 'experts' tell you that you can't do it; they say that because they don't want you to realize that you don't need them.  You may make some mistakes along the way, but most of these experts are just faster than you because they do these tasks every day.  Read some books, watch some videos (YouTube is a great start), and learn to think yourself out of a jam by being creative. In time, you will be just as fast or even faster than they are.  The difference is that you will not be doing the same thing everyday, and so you won't get burned out like they do.  Moreover, you can enjoy yourself because it is at your pace and no one is looking over your shoulder with a whip.

3) Learn how to cook good meals, and plan inexpensive side items to keep everyone full. Learning to cook is just a skill. Start small, and then progress over time.  Eventually, your meals will taste better and will be healthier than the restaurant you go to on a regular basis.  In time, your desire to eat out as much will be greatly reduced.  This will also increase your hospitality skills when cooking for several families at a time.

Following some of these basic principles take discipline, and it's not always easy to start out with, but it can be done. We do it everyday. I love my family, and I'd rather be with them than at work. Eventually, I'll be financially independent and self-sufficient enough to be with them instead of being reduced to a 'human resource' at work.

Hide God's Word In Your Heart

We are commanded to hide God's Word in our hearts that we may not sin against Him, so we rightly conclude that Scripture memory is a vital discipline of the Christian life, yet many overlook or dismiss this as 'legalistic'.  However, it should come as no surprise that a nation which lacks godliness does little Scripture memory.

How then does Scripture memory affect the heart and mind?

Memorizing the Scripture gives you the ability to chew on the Bible regularly because it is so close to the heart and mind.  You then cannot help but meditate on it, and, when temptation comes, you are far more capable of fighting against the world, the flesh, and the Devil.

Regular Scripture memory also reduces misquoting and vague generalizations.  Furthermore, I encourage Christians to memorize several passages in context so as to reduce taking verses out of context, which is a regular occurrence.  The more text that is memorized in context, the greater the impact as well. Not only is more of it being learned, but the scope of the larger theme is being understood along with is application.

Finally, as we memorize God's Word, it becomes more and more of our general vocabulary and conversation.  For example, the statement I made previously about the world, the flesh, and the Devil is from a collection of passages that speak of the spiritual warfare that we face from each of these foes.  Though different passages speak of these enemies independently, we see a common vein throughout the Bible, which allows us to make a doctrinal affirmation about them as a whole.

Therefore, what are you memorizing, and what are you encouraging your family to memorize?

Liberty To Raise Your Children: Fight For It!

Today, the religious elite in the Church of Nanny Statism has enacted a massive amount of legislation that is incredibly intrusive in all facets of life, especially in the raising of children.  These institutional churches are everywhere, and their priests are as the sand of the sea. They want nothing more than the heart, mind, soul, and strength of your child. 

Where are they?  They are everywhere.  You can run, but you can't hide. 

These churches are government schools, and her priests are the educators and administrators.  You will find them in urban centers and in the far reaches of America's grasslands, farms, and mountains.  Now you are sorely afraid, and you should be.  These statists will go to great lengths to set their will against the family like spending about $8,000/child each year to pay their priests and maintain this massively expensive infrastructure.

However, you must fight for your children, and you can begin by taking them out of government education. Join the mass exodus and raise your child with the liberty that God gave you.  Raise them in truth and righteousness instead of in the gang and drug infested cesspools that we call public schools.  There will be sacrifice and you will have to give up a times of leisure, but the sacrifice is worth it.  God has given you the ability and resource, His Word, to raise your children and educate them yourself. 

Praise Him, for He is The God of Liberty that entrusts families to raise children and not priests of the state. He is the Creator and knows the best means to raise children, and that is via Mom and Dad under the instruction of God's Word.

Children & Voting

As time goes on, the far left inevitable loses voters, so they must steal the minds of our children. Their worldview self-destructs because many on the far left have few or no children by choice.  In contrast, those on the right have children, and if not biologically they adopt.  This causes great consternation to the left because the absurdity of their worldview is put on display every time a child is born.

Though times appear to be going stagnant for years to come, God always preserves a remnant, and that remnant has children. We do not have children to influence elections, but a large number of godly children who grow into adulthood inevitably affect society.

Let us therefore raise children to the glory of God that He might be made known in our society. So remember, the next time that you are ridiculed for having children, especially a lot of them, point out that our worldview is not the one the rocks because it is built on The Rock, He Who is LORD of lords and King of kings! Amen!

To Him be the glory!