Just the facts: God is good all the time!

Friends, again, my apologies for being absent from this blog the past month. God has moved us out of Egypt and into the Promised Land and as a result, we have been on the move and unable to do proper updates. What has God done for His children?

God revealed Himself in an awesome display of His omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence this past month. In the space of 5-weeks, He:

A. Provided a place for us to move that not only met the needs of the child care center and the church, but reduced the rent and other associated expenses by as much as 50%.

B. Provided for the courts to order an agreement between the old landlord and me and my wife to dissolve the lease agreement and give us until March 1^st to turn in the keys!

C. Caused the new landlord (who is a General Contractor by trade) to provide for $30,000 of building improvements all out of his pocket. Remember, we walked away from $400,000 of tenant improvements in our old building after being pressured into moving out by our old landlord.

D. Allowed for the new landlord to have the building (which had tile and carpet, some of the walls and much of the plumbing and lighting fixtures ripped out when we first did a walk through on the building the last week in January) to be finished with all of the improvements by February 24^th so that we could stage the building for the crucial facility approval inspection by State Child Care licensing on the 25^th.

E. Provided volunteer workers who were able to clear the outside areas of trash and debris and make the immense play area in the back and side yard usable.

F. Allowed us to pass the licensing inspection which was scheduled to take 1½ hours but ended up taking 5½ hours.

G. Allowed us to close the child care center on Friday, 2/26, and then move everything over the weekend so that we could open the child care center on Monday, March 1^st, with no imposition to the families whose children we care for. God took a weather forecast that called for 2” of rain on Friday and Saturday and made it so that we had nothing more than a few sprinkles during the move.

H. Provided for enough extra help to make the move and clean the old facility.

I. Kept the child care center at full capacity. We lost two families and picked up two new families.

J. Allowed for a sweet outdoor worship service at our new facility on February 28^th and our first indoor service this past Sunday.

We had a rummage Sale this past Saturday (necessary since we had stuff that we moved out of our old 5600 square foot facility that did not fit into our new 3300 square foot facility) that allowed us to meet some of the people in the area, provide opportunities to share the gospel, and make some invitations to join us for service. May God cause seeds to take root and make our sowing fruitful. We have another Rummage Sale scheduled for this next Saturday.

In addition, my job at Hansel Honda has been going well. Sales were up 28% over last year, same month. I volunteered to work five days a week (Saturdays also) since we lost a Sales Manager (who quit to go to another dealership in Marin). That helped to show my commitment to Hansel Honda. We hired a new Sales Manager who started work 3/1 so I am now on my regular schedule of M,T,Th, F and one Saturday a month. However, because of a Tuesday, Wednesday American Honda Manager Training session that I had to attend in Walnut Creek last week, I do not have to work a Saturday this month!

There is an excitement in the air over what God has done and is going to do for His church. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

We have entered the Promised Land

¹Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! ²Begin the music, strike the tambourine, play the melodious harp and lyre. ³Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast; ⁴this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. -Psalm 81:1-4 (NIV)

He is Jehovah Jireh! He does provide. When evil appears to press in on all sides; when the Egyptians have us surrounded with their chariots and horsemen and spears; when darkness threatens to drown out the light, God provides! He is the Savior of His people. And we place our faith in him!

After our first full year of ministering to children and families in some of the most dire situations (unemployment, divorce and single parenting, people who do not yet understand the saving grace of God), it looked like Construction Junction Child Care Center would go out of business.

With our back to the walls and with a landlord who has done everything in her power to have us removed or evicted (regardless of the $400,000 of tenant improvements we did on her building), God opened doors that we did NOT know existed and brought us into the Promised Land.

Our child care center and our church have a new address: 280 Maxwell Court, Santa Rosa, CA 95401. We celebrated our first worship service there this past Sunday. And the child care was opened for business on March 1st! The phone numbers are the same: 707-573-7300 for the church; 707-566-3900 for the child care center.

I will provide more testimony of the doors that opened for us after God heard our prayers. He was working upstream the whole time. He will never leave us nor forsake us! Amen! Hallelujah!

Sportswriter Sally Jenkins says that she is pro-choice which would lead me to believe that she is not a Christian. She certainly does not claim to be. But what she writes would lead me to believe that maybe God is preparing her heart for conversion. I will continue to pray for those who so vehemently oppose Tim Tebow and his pro-life Super Bowl TV ad (that has yet to be aired!). But, Lord, forgive me if I pray just a little harder for Ms. Jenkins. She's a lot closer to exhibiting the fruit of Christianity than I was before God regenerated my heart!

Tebow's Super Bowl ad isn't intolerant; its critics are

Tim Tebow's 30-second Super Bowl ad has already provoked plenty of criticism. (Dave Martin/associated Press) Enlarge Photo

By Sally Jenkins

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 2, 2010

I'll spit this out quick, before the armies of feminism try to gag me and strap electrodes to my forehead: Tim Tebow is one of the better things to happen to young women in some time. I realize this stance won't endear me to the "Dwindling Organizations of Ladies in Lockstep," otherwise known as DOLL, but I'll try to pick up the shards of my shattered feminist credentials and go on.

As statements at Super Bowls go, I prefer the idea of Tebow's pro-life ad to, say, Jim McMahon dropping his pants, as the former Chicago Bears quarterback once did in response to a question. We're always harping on athletes to be more responsible and engaged in the issues of their day, and less concerned with just cashing checks. It therefore seems more than a little hypocritical to insist on it only if it means criticizing sneaker companies, and to stifle them when they take a stance that might make us uncomfortable.

I'm pro-choice, and Tebow clearly is not. But based on what I've heard in the past week, I'll take his side against the group-think, elitism and condescension of the "National Organization of Fewer and Fewer Women All The Time." For one thing, Tebow seems smarter than they do.

Tebow's 30-second ad hasn't even run yet, but it already has provoked "The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us" to reveal something important about themselves: They aren't actually "pro-choice" so much as they are pro-abortion. Pam Tebow has a genuine pro-choice story to tell. She got pregnant in 1987, post-Roe v. Wade, and while on a Christian mission in the Philippines, she contracted a tropical ailment. Doctors advised her the pregnancy could be dangerous, but she exercised her freedom of choice and now, 20-some years later, the outcome of that choice is her beauteous Heisman Trophy winner son, a chaste, proselytizing evangelical.

Pam Tebow and her son feel good enough about that choice to want to tell people about it. Only, NOW says they shouldn't be allowed to. Apparently NOW feels this commercial is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikinis selling beer is the right one. I would like to meet the genius at NOW who made that decision. On second thought, no, I wouldn't.

There's not enough space in the sports pages for the serious weighing of values that constitutes this debate, but surely everyone in both camps, pro-choice or pro-life, wishes the "need" for abortions wasn't so great. Which is precisely why NOW is so wrong to take aim at Tebow's ad.

Here's what we do need a lot more of: Tebows. Collegians who are selfless enough to choose not to spend summers poolside, but travel to impoverished countries to dispense medical care to children, as Tebow has every summer of his career. Athletes who believe in something other than themselves, and are willing to put their backbone where their mouth is. Celebrities who are self-possessed and self-controlled enough to use their wattage to advertise commitment over decadence.

You know what we really need more of? Famous guys who aren't embarrassed to practice sexual restraint, and to say it out loud. If we had more of those, women might have fewer abortions. See, the best way to deal with unwanted pregnancy is to not get the sperm in the egg and the egg implanted to begin with, and that is an issue for men, too -- and they should step up to that.

"Are you saving yourself for marriage?" Tebow was asked last summer during an SEC media day.

"Yes, I am," he replied.

The room fell into a hush, followed by tittering: The best college football player in the country had just announced he was a virgin. As Tebow gauged the reaction from the reporters in the room, he burst out laughing. They were a lot more embarrassed than he was.

"I think y'all are stunned right now!" he said. "You can't even ask a question!"

That's how far we've come from any kind of sane viewpoint about star athletes and sex. Promiscuity is so the norm that if a stud isn't shagging everything in sight, we feel faintly ashamed for him.

Obviously Tebow can make people uncomfortable, whether it's for advertising his chastity, or for wearing his faith on his face via biblical citations painted in his eye-black. Hebrews 12:12, his cheekbones read during the Florida State game: "Therefore strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees." His critics find this intrusive, and say the Super Bowl is no place for an argument of this nature. "Pull the ad," NOW President Terry O'Neill said. "Let's focus on the game."

Trouble is, you can't focus on the game without focusing on the individuals who play it -- and that is the genius of Tebow's ad. The Super Bowl is not some reality-free escape zone. Tebow himself is an inescapable fact: Abortion doesn't just involve serious issues of life, but of potential lives, Heisman trophy winners, scientists, doctors, artists, inventors, Little Leaguers -- who would never come to be if their birth mothers had not wrestled with the stakes and chosen to carry those lives to term. And their stories are every bit as real and valid as the stories preferred by NOW.

Let me be clear again: I couldn't disagree with Tebow more. It's my own belief that the state has no business putting its hand under skirts. But I don't care that we differ. Some people will care that the ad is paid for by Focus on the Family, a group whose former spokesman, James Dobson, says loathsome things about gays. Some will care that Tebow is a creationist. Some will care that CBS has rejected a gay dating service ad. None of this is the point. CBS owns its broadcast and can run whatever advertising it wants, and Tebow has a right to express his beliefs publicly. Just as I have the right to reject or accept them after listening -- or think a little more deeply about the issues. If the pro-choice stance is so precarious that a story about someone who chose to carry a risky pregnancy to term undermines it, then CBS is not the problem.

Tebow's ad, by the way, never mentions abortion; like the player himself, it's apparently soft-spoken. It simply has the theme "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life." This is what NOW has labeled "extraordinarily offensive and demeaning." But if there is any demeaning here, it's coming from NOW, via the suggestion that these aren't real questions, and that we as a Super Bowl audience are too stupid or too disinterested to handle them on game day.

All you need is love

I received this from www.tangle.com yesterday. It was put together by that great evangelical institution called Starbucks. They have put together a website called www.starbucksloveproject.com and features this tagline on google: “Love changes everything - including the world. Help me save lives by joining an unprecedented global event.”

I certainly can’t argue with that. Love does change everything. The problem is that most of the world is busy trying to figure out WHAT is love. The real question should be, “WHO is love?” The Bible gives us the answer:

1 John 4:16-18 (NIV) - God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Who do we need? God! Why?

John 3:16-18 (NIV) - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

Romans 5:8 (NIV) - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:7-12 (NIV) - Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

What should be our response?

Mark 1:15 (NIV) - "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Mark 12:29-31 (NIV) - "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'There is no commandment greater than these."

John 14:21 (NIV) - "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

John 13:34 (NIV) - "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV) - Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Luke 6:27-36 (NIV) - "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you."

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

Starbucks asks, "Can an individual save the world?" Yes, an individual can, my friend. And HE did! God saved the world of believers through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. And He gives all who repent and believe in his Son the deposit of the Holy Spirit to be our guide to empower us to be Ambassadors of Christ and lead us to glory.

All we need is God! Know God, know forgiveness, know redemption, know grace, know love.

Higher Calling

If there ever was a man I believe I would like to emulate other than Jesus, I believe that Tony Dungy would be that man. Here is a man who reached the pinnacle of success in his profession and yet did it all with impeccable integrity and devotion to God. Tony Dungy sees people who need redemption and sets out to help them. He helps them by being a man who commands respect; by being a man who lives his faith on his sleeve. In spite of family tragedy; in spite of the kind of stardom and success that make lesser men believe that they are above the law, Tony Dungy lives a life that has is law-abiding because of the grace that has been freely given to him. He gives freely to others who most people would call unredeemable because he once lived a life that was unredeemed until a man who lived 2000 years ago touched him and gave him new life.

In a world where people who have been given hero status fall off of their pedestals daily, Tony Dungy requires no pedestal and yet stands tall above the others. If my life can be a fraction of the impact that Tony's life has been, God will be glorified.

(Click on the title to be forwarded to the cover story.)

A Facebook Movement, Against Mom and Dad

Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

Tess Chapin, a 15-year-old from Sunnyside, Queens, who has been grounded for five weeks, started a Facebook group called “1000 to get tess ungrounded.”

My advice for the parents of 15-year-old, Tess Chapin who have grounded their daughter for drinking alcohol and breaking curfew and now are the objects of an electronic campaign to commute the punishment (click on the blog title to be redirected to the original article): STAY THE COURSE!

Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)--Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Having been blessed with sharing the light of Jesus Christ with 50 foster children; having seen the devastating effects of children who are reared in God-less households not only in the foster system, but in the children who frequent our child care center as well as the children in our neighborhood, I support the parents who are willing to teach their children that there are consequences to bad choices in life.

Too many children are growing up thinking that they can do what they want regardless of who they step on and hurt. Too many children are growing up to be selfish prima-donnas who think they don't have to follow the same rules as other people; who are not accountable to a God who will one day call them to judgment because He is a just and holy God.

The future would be much brighter if we were training our children to be self-less (in the image of Christ) rather than selfish (in the image of those who say there is no God and thus no higher power to be accountable to). The world would be a better place if our children were taught the power of being an adopted child of God rather than narcissistic, egocentric Hollywood stars and starlets.

Do not be afraid to discipline your child, knowing that Godly discipline in not about punishment, but instead, it is about training. Don't let the "Free Tess" petitions or the "i'm going to drive you crazy" actions of your daughter sway you.

In the end, you will be doing your part to raise a civil, gracious, humble, law-abiding, obedient, and respectful human being who can be a benefit to society.

Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)--The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Outpost

What am I feeling right now? I think back to Kevin Costner's character in the movie, Dances with Wolves, when he begins to settle in to his assignment at that desolate outpost so very far away from others. Is this the life of a monk? No civilized people to talk to and interact with. And, when people do show up in my life, it's like they are from another country. We don't speak the same language. We don't share the same God. We struggle to find commonalities. I can relate to their struggles, their pain, their sin, but I can't understand why they won't take the medicine that will heal their wounds and bring them to repentance and a full relationship with their maker.

I long for others who see the world as I see it: a world that belongs to the God who created it all; a world that begs to worship Him who gives life and takes it away. I long for others who have the same hunger and thirst for God as I do; who would come to me and say, "Hey, Brian, let's open our Bibles and dig into God's Word." I long for those who want to share the good news of Jesus Christ as much as I do; who will walk with me up and down Santa Rosa Avenue and take the Gospel out on the streets to those who so desperately need the cure for the cancer they don't even know that they have.

Where is the fellowship? Where is the like-minded people; those who value their relationship with God like I do; those who would see Southeast Santa Rosa with the eyes of Jesus as he gazed down on Jerusalem and cried, "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those I sent to you, how often I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." (Matthew 23:37 NIV)

Father God, send the harvesters. Send the people who will share the Good News of your Son, Jesus Christ, and will work the fields you have set before us. I long to see you glorified and praised and acknowledged for who you are: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. I long for my adopted brothers and sisters to join me in celebrating you!

CREATION SCIENCE EVANGELISM T.V

With our recent visit from Scott Gillis of Creation Ministries International still fresh in our minds, I thought this website could be a great source of continuing education on the Biblical account of creation. Pastor James Somers put this blog site together and also has a number of other sites that can help a Disciple of Christ to better understand what he or she believes.

Check out his Doctrine for Dummies (http://doctrinefordummies.blogspot.com/) or the Way of the Master video about Michael Jackson at his Bible-Smart blog (http://www.bible-smart.blogspot.com/).

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” -1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

CREATION SCIENCE EVANGELISM T.V.

HEY FOLKS, I'VE GOT AN AWESOME LINK FOR YOU TODAY! Here is the link from dr.dino.com forCreation Science Evangelism T.V. This means you can watch continuous streaming debates between Dr. Kent Hovind and Evolutionists as well as other awesome stuff. I could get addicted to this channel easy...check it out and leave comments on what you find!

Ann Coulter: If You Can Find A Better Deal, Take It

The following comes from Ann Coulter's blog regarding the reaction to comments by Brit Hume concerning Tiger Woods. While it might not be quite the way I would explain the gospel, it does raise some important thoughts about our faith and why others react so negatively to what we believe. I believe Ann misses the power the power of the Holy Spirit in the acts of justification and sanctification, and thus comes away with a rather works-based method of Christianity. On the other hand, at least someone is standing up for Jesus!

Her gospel accentuates the need of the Christian to get out and share the true Gospel that saves. Where are you, church?

Someone mentioned Christianity on television recently and liberals reacted with their usual howls of rage and blinking incomprehension.

On a Fox News panel discussing Tiger Woods, Brit Hume said, perfectly accurately:

"The extent to which he can recover, it seems to me, depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So, my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."

Hume's words, being 100 percent factually correct, sent liberals into a tizzy of sputtering rage, once again illustrating liberals' copious ignorance of Christianity. (Also illustrating the words of the Bible: "How is it you do not understand me when I speak? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my words." John 8:43.)

In The Washington Post, Tom Shales demanded that Hume apologize, saying he had "dissed about half a billion Buddhists on the planet."

Is Buddhism about forgiveness? Because, if so, Buddhists had better start demanding corrections from every book, magazine article and blog posting ever written on the subject, which claims Buddhists don't believe in God, but try to become their own gods.

I can't imagine that anyone thinks Tiger's problem was that he didn't sufficiently think of himself as a god, especially after that final putt in the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year.

In light of Shales' warning Hume about "what people are saying" about him, I hope Hume's a Christian, but that's not apparent from his inarguable description of Christianity. Of course, given the reaction to his remarks, apparently one has to be a regular New Testament scholar to have so much as a passing familiarity with the basic concept of Christianity.

On MSNBC, David Shuster invoked the "separation of church and television" (a phrase that also doesn't appear in the Constitution), bitterly complaining that Hume had brought up Christianity "out-of-the-blue" on "a political talk show."

Why on earth would Hume mention religion while discussing a public figure who had fallen from grace and was in need of redemption and forgiveness? Boy, talk about coming out of left field!

What religion -- what topic -- induces this sort of babbling idiocy? (If liberals really want to keep people from hearing about God, they should give Him his own show on MSNBC.)

Most perplexing was columnist Dan Savage's indignant accusation that Hume was claiming that Christianity "offers the best deal -- it gives you the get-out-of-adultery-free card that other religions just can't."

In fact, that's exactly what Christianity does. It's the best deal in the universe. (I know it seems strange that a self-described atheist and "radical sex advice columnist f*****" like Savage would miss the central point of Christianity, but there it is.)

God sent his only son to get the crap beaten out of him, die for our sins and rise from the dead. If you believe that, you're in. Your sins are washed away from you -- sins even worse than adultery! -- because of the cross.

"He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross." Colossians 2:14.

Surely you remember the cross, liberals -- the symbol banned by ACLU lawsuits from public property throughout the land?

Christianity is simultaneously the easiest religion in the world and the hardest religion in the world.

In the no-frills, economy-class version, you don't need a church, a teacher, candles, incense, special food or clothing; you don't need to pass a test or prove yourself in any way. All you'll need is a Bible (in order to grasp the amazing deal you're getting) and probably a water baptism, though even that's disputed.

You can be washing the dishes or walking your dog or just sitting there minding your business hating Susan Sarandon and accept that God sent his only son to die for your sins and rise from the dead ... and you're in!

"Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9.

If you do that, every rotten, sinful thing you've ever done is gone from you. You're every bit as much a Christian as the pope or Billy Graham.

No fine print, no "your mileage may vary," no blackout dates. God ought to do a TV spot: "I'm God Almighty, and if you can find a better deal than the one I'm offering, take it."

The Gospel makes this point approximately 1,000 times. Here are a few examples at random:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23.

In a boiling rage, liberals constantly accuse Christians of being "judgmental." No, we're relieved.

Christianity is also the hardest religion in the world because, if you believe Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead, you have no choice but to give your life entirely over to Him. No more sexual promiscuity, no lying, no cheating, no stealing, no killing inconvenient old people or unborn babies -- no doing what all the other kids do.

And no more caring what the world thinks of you -- because, as Jesus warned in a prophecy constantly fulfilled by liberals: The world will hate you.

With Christianity, your sins are forgiven, the slate is wiped clean and your eternal life is guaranteed through nothing you did yourself, even though you don't deserve it. It's the best deal in the universe.

Be Blessed This Holiday Season

Many of you know that our adopted son, Noah, sees a counselor. His name is Uriah Guilford, and what I like best about Uriah is that he is a Christian. I thought I would include his December Newsletter here for your edification. Statistics tell us that during the Christmas season, more people commit suicide in the United States than at any other time of the year.

The article contains some very practical things to do to combat depression during the holidays. On the other hand, the most important thing to do is to hand over control of your life to Jesus Christ. Hebrews 12 calls him the author and perfector of our faith. The best counselor in the world is the one described in Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) - "...Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Jesus is the reason for the season!

⁹ If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. ¹¹ As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” ¹² Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. ¹³ For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” -Romans 10:9-13 (NLT)

Forward to a friend

10 Tips for Getting Through the Holidays (taken from an article by Jim Burns, PhD of Homeward) 1. Set manageable expectations 2. Remember the holiday season doesn't eliminate sadness or lonliness 3. Acknowledge the past, but look forward to the future 4. Develop and encourage a life of gratitude 5. Do something for someone else 6. Enjoy activities that are cheap or free 7. Enjoy a family holiday tradition 8. Try something new 9. Spend money responsibily (especially this year) 10. Carve out some time for yourself Click Here for the full article Wishing you and your family a very Happy Holiday! Visit me at helpthiskid.com or call (707) 520-4357

Humbled by the Sovereign Grace of God

It would have been my intention that this story be about how my wife and I saw a need and were led by the Holy Spirit to fill it. That would have been my intention. But, as so often happens, God had other plans.

The story begins with two brothers--we'll call them Terry and Cory (not their real names). Terry is in the 6th grade, and Cory is in 4th. I know this as I had to have a talk with them about picking on my three little ones (Noah, Izaya, and Zoe) on the walk to school. When my talk did not seem to work, I solicited help from the school principal who mentioned that it did not catch her by surprise that I was talking about "those boys."

The boys live with their mom and dad and toddler sister in a tiny mobile home within sight of the church. To say that the family is poor would be an understatement. The boys always look hungry; they don't appear to have a lot of clothes or toys. You can see it in their domicile; you can see it in the way the kids are dressed.

We've tried to befriend the boys, but they seem to only be around when we are giving something away or when they are needing something. They seem to know exactly when there is a pot luck at the church. They will make a plate of food and a cup of coffee (yes, you are reading this right), walk outside pretending to eat, and then run home. Then, they will return to make another plate.

We've tried to befriend the mom and dad, but that has not worked. It's like they are doing something illegal and don't want us to know. They don't want to talk about the weather; they don't want to talk about the neighborhood; they don't want to talk about Jesus.

One day, when the boys asked to play with the kids in the child care center and were turned away because of State Child Care licensing laws, Cory decided to take his frustration out by firing a rock from his slingshot. He broke a window in an employees car. There was a promise to pay for the window made by the mom in front of a sherrif's deputy, but we have not seen any payments and really do not expect to.

How my wife happened to notice that the two boys were at school last week (during the cold-spell where the temperatures were dropping into the 20's) and not wearing socks is beyond me. When asked, the boys told her that they did not have any socks. So my wife, being the compassionate little Christian that she is, decided to go through the donations that we receive at the church and through some of our Noah's "hand-me-downs" that we were saving for Izaya to pick out some warm clothes. She added some brand new socks that someone had donated to our Samaritan's Closet. And when she had put it all together, she asked me to take the donation down to the school having all ready arranged with the principal to make sure the boys received the donation.

And that's where I would have thought the story would have ended. But then, God stepped in. To be honest, it hasn't been a good year for our family financially. Opening the child care center and the church has eaten up all of the resources that God has entrusted us with and then some. Bobbi and I were all ready resigned to not buying Christmas presents for our kids (we stopped buying each other gifts last year).

As I handed the donation to the school secretary, she asked me to wait a minute as she had something for me. "Something for me," I thought. She disappeared down the hall and returned with a big trash bag obviously filled with something. Inside was brand new Christmas presents for our boys: a Razor scooter for Izaya and a Wave Runner skate board for Noah. She disappeared again and returned with a brand new bike for Zoe.

It seems that the principal (who knows us well because of the volunteer work we do in the classrooms and with the PTA) had submitted our names to an organization that was providing Christmas presents for those in need.

I walk in to the school office with a donation of used clothes, feeling pretty good about myself for being able to help others less fortunate. And, I walk out completely humbled by the Sovereign Grace of our Lord and Savior. We serve an awesome God!

Can the United States really be blocking the return of the savior of all mankind? Do you mean to tell me that the one, true God of the universe - El Elyon na Adonai, the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God who spoke the world into existence and who can take it all away with one breath sits in a state of powerlessness because the United States is blocking the return of the one who will save the world?

That's not the God that I serve! And, it surely is not the God who has revealed Himself and His plan for mankind in His Holy Word, the Bible!

What a small god the Iranian people worship - one who must wait for the U.S. to give her approval or at least get out of the way before he can send the savior. The God that I serve does not bow to the mere whims of a country or a President or a King. The God that I serve holds the power of life and death. He can do all He pleases according to His good timing.

If you are a Muslim and reading this, I pray that you will open up the Bible and see the God who reveals Himself and the Son who came to this earth in obedience to the Father to save mankind. You see, my friend, the savior has all ready come once, to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would repent and call on His name as Lord and Savior. No other god sent his son to do what man could not. Allah says that you will get into heaven based on your works. God says that there is no amount of good works that you can do to get you into heaven. You need God's grace.

Ephesians 2:4-9 (NIV)—But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

I am praying that you will stop believing in a god who is powerless when a nation as convuluted as the United States stands against it. I am praying that you will come to a saving knowledge of the grace being offered to you.

Jesus said in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Jesus, the Savior of Mankind, will be back, my friend. No nation or principality or person will be able to stop him. I pray that you will be on the right side of the road when he comes.

Ahmadinejad Reportedly Claims U.S. is Blocking Return of Mankind's Savior

Monday, December 07, 2009

REUTERS

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks in Caracas, Venezuela on Nov. 25.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claims the United States is attempting to thwart the return of mankind's savior, according to reports from Al Arabiya, a television news station based in Dubai.

Ahmadinejad reportedly claims he has documented evidence that the U.S. is blocking the return of Mahdi, the Imam believed by Muslims to be the savior.

“We have documented proof that they believe that a descendant of the prophet of Islam will raise in these parts and he will dry the roots of all injustice in the world,” Ahmadinejad said during a speech on Monday, according to Al Arabiya.

"They have devised all these plans to prevent the coming of the Hidden Imam because they know that the Iranian nation is the one that will prepare the grounds for his coming and will be the supporters of his rule," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

Ahmadinejad continued the rant by claiming there have been plots by both the West as well as countries in the East to wipe out his country, according to Iranian news Web site Tabak.

"They have planned to annihilate Iran. This is why all policymakers and analysts believe Iran is the true winner in the Middle East," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the site. He also alleged that foreign nations seek to control Iran's oil and natural resources.

"In Afghanistan, they are caught like an animal in a quagmire. But instead of pulling their troops out to save themselves, they are deploying more soldiers. Even if they stay in Afghanistan for another 50 years they will be forced to leave with disgrace — because this is a historical experience," Ahmadinejad reportedly said.

"They know themselves that they need Iran in the Middle East, but because of their arrogance they do not want to accept this reality. They are nothing without the Iranian nation and all their rhetoric is because they don't want to appear weak."