"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." Hebrews 3:13-14
Phyllis Nelson
I'm a Pastor's wife in rural Perry, New York where there are more cows than people. For 17 years we have been worshipping God with a body of believers whose hearts are growing more in love with him each day. This blog is an attempt to encourage the ladies of Perry Baptist Church to continue the fight of growing in faith and love for God and his son Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Please feel free to join us in the pursuit of working together for our joy.
Don't know if you've read the above article (Post title will link you) but after I read it, I am now convinced that our world has gone mad. The attempt on the part of the media and ruling officials to vilify this woman is ridiculous!
Here we have a woman who cares about the welfare of children, attempts to care for them and is now looking at 3 to 9 years in prison. What about the Haitian, U.S., and U.N. powers that be who have suppressed Haiti for years, leaving parents no choice but to find orphanages who are able to feed, cloth, and protect their children. And this was before the earthquake.
This is not justice. And this woman is not the criminal. I weary of this world and the evil in it. I so long for God to come and expose the hidden secrets of darkness.
In the meantime, pray for these people, that God will be their refuge, realizing that the powers of darkness can wield no more power than God grants them.
Now a new book by Mark Regnerus called Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers gives the same bleak picture of so-called “evangelical teenagers” who sleep around as much as unbelievers. But again the book points out that “the 16% of American teenagers who say that their faith is ‘extremely important to their lives’ are living chastely” (Gene Veith, “Sex and the Evangelical Teen,” World, August 11, 2007, p. 9).
Some of you may remember what Sider said two years ago. But here it is again. The point is that what he said then has now been confirmed again by a totally separate survey. May the Lord use both these studies to encourage us that even though growing a church by serious teaching of biblical truth may be harder and slower, it does bear more radical fruit than less doctrinally serious strategies of growth.
Here is what Sider says the more radically transformed Christians believe:
These people believe that “the Bible is the moral standard” and “absolute moral truths exist and are conveyed through the Bible.” In addition they agree with all six of the following additional beliefs: that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator who still rules the universe; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; Satan is a real, living entity; salvation is a free gift, not something we can earn; every Christian has a personal responsibility to evangelize; and the Bible is totally accurate in all it teaches. (Scandal, p. 127)
Then Sider lists the kinds of behaviors this more doctrinally rigorous group tend to show.
They are nine times more likely than all the others to avoid “adult-only” material on the Internet. They are four times more likely than other Christians to boycott objectionable companies and products and twice as likely to choose not to watch a movie specifically because of its bad content. They are three times more likely than other adults not to use tobacco products and twice as likely to volunteer time to help needy people. Forty-nine percent of all born-again Christians with a biblical worldview have volunteered more than an hour in the previous week to an organization serving the poor, whereas only 29 percent of born-again Christians without a biblical worldview and only 22 percent of non-born-again Christians had done so. (Scandal, p. 128)
Sider concludes with a word that pastors and youth leaders should hear with great seriousness—mainly because the Bible teaches it, but also because Regnerus’s new book points in the same direction. Here is Sider’s conclusion:
[The] findings on the different behavior of Christians with a biblical worldview underline the importance of theology. Biblical orthodoxy does matter. One important way to end the scandal of contemporary Christian behavior is to work and pray fervently for the growth of orthodox theological belief in our churches. (Scandal, pp. 129-130)
Yes. Pray for sure. And work our heinies off teaching and preaching and modeling the Truth. And resist an entertainment model for youth ministry. And cultivate a joyfully blood-earnest atmosphere for worship. And call for our youth and our retirees to go risk their lives somewhere for the risen King Jesus. This is where serious truth-driven ministry takes us.
Growing in the knowledge and grace of Jesus with you,
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Tax season is upon us, ugh! But it is unlikely that you would go to the theater and be presented with a cartoon like the one below before the main flick begins.
Those of us who are older remember the days of cartoons preceding the motion picture.
This cartoon was in the World War II era as you will discover. Funding the war was a great challenge to the US and they incorporated the help of the American people through tax increases.
I have to say that their motivation tactic was a bit over the top. Declaring you a Nazi supporter if you did not pay your taxes and declaring you a respectable American citizen if you did. This was, well, cheap (pardon the pun).
But as they say, "Taxes to defeat the Axis" of evil, of course. Who wouldn't want to defeat an Axis of Evil. Does that term sound familiar? Hmm.....Bush didn't coin that phrase? Well, they didn't actually say evil, just shows how far we've progressed in 50 years.
Hitler, and men like him who have signed on to propagate hate and war have existed since the beginning of time. But rarely does any man stand alone. What history books have failed to reveal is: Who is pulling the strings?
The danger in believing the responsibility lies only with one man, a "Hitler", or a "Saddam Hussein", is the false sense of victory we enjoy when they have been defeated. The true masterminds are in hiding only to find another "straw man" to accomplish their evil agenda. So, the axis is never really crushed.
Now don't laugh when I tell you this, but I have believed for most of my life that our Government was basically good. After all, we hold up the constitution as a witness to the founding father's faith in God. We have been and still are a mostly protestant, conservative country.
I still believe this to be true. But my eyes have been opened to a harsh reality that while most people are this way, our Government was hijacked a long time ago. Just as bad leaders like Hitler are probably willing puppets on a string, I believe good men are forced to become puppets, even if their initial intentions are respectable.
This revelation does not alarm me, the bible says that the power of darkness is present on this earth. But it does change the amount of hope I lay at the feet of our Government, none. Some might argue: "Well, your hope should always be in God". It is, I just thought their hope was in God as well.
I no longer have a misplaced hope in our Government. I'm also not afraid of the axis of evil that corrupts all governments from within. God controls that axis, it cannot exercise any power but what God allows.
I watch very little news any longer, I read the bible instead, because I know it's telling the truth! Pray, pray, pray, God is and has always been the true power source. "Call upon him and he will answer you and show you great and mighty things you know not" Jeremiah 33:3.
We serve a GREAT God!! Though he is mysterious, he is not beyond finding out. He is good, merciful, compassionate and loving towards those who fear him. And he is without a doubt in control of every disaster that comes upon mankind.
Jesus would say the same thing today that he said when the people questioned him as to whether the people sinned the reason the tower of siloam fell and killed them. He simply said, "Repent, or you likewise shall perish".
Earthquakes are devastating and the Haitians live in fear of them today. Wisdom would drive them to fear God instead. I know God is in the earthquake, which is a frightening thought, but not fearing God, is more frightening. But what a good God we serve!!
The devastation in Haiti is great. The size of Haiti is estimated to be around 2.5 to 3 million people. God has called two men, who live in a town with a population of 5,000 people, to go and help those in need.
The plan is to be there for nine days and be used in an area that has not received medical attention since the earthquake. Please continue praying for Nate and Dan as they minister to the people's body and soul.
We are praying that God stirs the hearts of those in Haiti towards himself. We're already hearing reports of people turning from voodoo, which has kept many in bondage, and instead turning to Jesus in song.
What a great opportunity for Nate and Dan to share Christ and experience God's work. What a great opportunity for Perry Baptist to enter into this work with them.
The time zone is the same as ours, which is helpful to know when praying for them. May God grant them physical strength and endurance and may he give them a faith that does not grow weak.
I received an email from my Sister in law with information on a wonderful service provided to women with cancer. It is called, Cleaning for a reason.
I don't know too many details, but if you know of someone who might benefit from this service, their website, Cleaning for a reason will provide you with answers to any questions you may have.
I did notice that the nearest cleaning service to Perry is West Henrietta.
A Mighty Surrender
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When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now...
The Low Ceiling of Suffocated Christianity
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That's right, that is if we adhere to the clip-boards of the rationalists.
That which is above us, beyond man, transcendent is summarily dismissed in
favo...
Don't know if you've read the above article (Post title will link you) but after I read it, I am now convinced that our world has gone mad. The attempt on the part of the media and ruling officials to vilify this woman is ridiculous!
