"Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.'"
2 Timothy 2:19
And now I'm just waiting for the NyQuil to fully kick on so that when I go to bed...I can actually sleep. I'm hoping that I wake up refreshed tomorrow. There is a lot to do!
Also, I discovered this evening an awesomoe came on candystand.com called...er, I think "Stack Em." It's a puzzle game, and it's kind of addictive. But then it gets to be so ridiculously hard that you want to give up.
Well, I'm beginning to feel woozy...ah, yes, the NyQuil.
I'm not a huge football fan, but I do enjoy college football, especially when it involves the University of Kentucky and more importantly, the University of Louisville!
And today, the two bluegrass times face each other.
I hope that UofL can turn itself around after last year's horrible performance.
I know I just made an entry below on Sarah Palin, but I am in the political mood right now and I want to rant...
Let's set every moral issue aside (i.e. abortion, homosexuality, etc) and focus on one thing as Christians- the size of the government. Do you want the government to grow in size, to gain more control and more power or do you want a smaller, less invasive, less controlling government?
Think about it. The bigger the government and the more power they have, the less freedoms we will have to worship and preach the truth without fear of persecution. But if the government is reduced and taxes lowered, we will have more freedom!
The fact is, small government is one of the platforms of the Republican party while the Democrats thrive on the idea of increased government involvement and...well, socialist concepts. Someone might say, "Yeah, that's what the Republicans say but the government has grown under Bush." That may be right. There may be republicans who are not as conservative as they need to be, but that doesn't change the fact that smaller government is what will most benefit Christians and therefore, if we are going to vote, shouldn't we vote with that in mind?
Obama wants universal healthcare (folks, that does not mean "free healthcare." You will be paying for it, and it's not as great as it sounds, just look at Canada). Obama lauds the communist govts. of China and Europe (socialist). Obama wants nationwide Headstart to start kids earlier in education (start the brainwashing sooner rather than later). He wants to increase the taxes and place more restrictions on the corporations that provide goods and services (as well as jobs) to this country (which will inevitably raise prices). He is opposed to offshore drilling (which WILL lower gas prices and break our dependance on foreign oil). Folks, it is clear- Obama is for a bigger government and he wants the govt. to control your lives much more than it already does.
I'm not saying, "Vote for McCain." While he is much better than Obama on a majority of the issues, I do not believe that he is the ideal conservative. That is why I have considered voting for Bob Barr, the libertarian candidate. But what I am saying is this...lay every moral issue aside and focus on the size of the government. That's what will most benefit Christians, and folks, in this regard, Obama is definitely NOT your man.
You can repudiate corruption in the Republican party, and you can point out every flaw with president Bush and McCain, but that doesn't change what I have said above, so let's lay aside the straw men for now and focus on the issue...government size.
I want what the Founding Fathers wanted: smaller government. They wanted it because they saw the British Empire bloated and ineffecient. Today, the American Empire is bloated and ineffecient. We need it smaller which will make what they actually do in congress valuable instead of pointless and petty.
DISCLAIMER: I don't want anyone to think that I am being contentious here. I'm only trying to challenge the way we typically approach the subject of politics. This is not ultimately about voting Republican or voting Democrat. Ultimately, as Terry points out on his blog, we must recognize that we are citizens of heaven and that God is in control. These kinds of discussions are fun and interesting, but let's not get overly involved emotionally. Just wanted to clarify that...
Right on! She's right up there with Bobby Jindal and Elizabeth Dole as acceptable running mates, in my opinion. I need to learn a bit more about her, but right off the bat, I am impressed. I still won't vote for McCain for President, but I might just vote for Palin for Vice President! We'll see. It's still a tough choice considering who's at the top of the ticket. I might still go for the Constitution Party or Libertarian Party, but this does leave the GOP as an open possibility, much to my surprise.
What about Deborah and Esther? I agree with 1 Timothy 2:13-15, but clearly there are times when women can have lofty positions of authority. Ethan, would you have voted for Hilary Clinton? What if she had been picked as VP?
Great news! Peggy Crane was baptized into Christ yesterday!
And listen to how this came about. We have sermon CD racks at several places in town, and I maintain and update the racks every week. On one of the CDs, there was a lesson on the objections to baptism, and a lady named Irene picked up that CD. She called us wanting to be baptized. We studied with her and she was converted. She has been faithful ever since. Well, Irene works at a factory down the mountain and she takes tracts, sermon CDs and newsletters and puts them in the break room. Well, Peggy picked up some of those CDs and came to church because they pricked her heart (there is a welcome message on each CD advertising who we are, our times of services, and directions to our building). Peggy came to church this past Sunday and came forward. We studied with her that evening, and then on Tuesday and Wednesday. She was baptized on Wednesday and is excited to continue to study and begin her walk with God. She said that she feels like a kid in a candystore (in reference to our Bible studies). Praise God for adding the increase!
The september issue of "Anchor of the Soul" is available now on our website, www.LookingToJesus.com. It's a good issue, I believe, and our mailing list has grown this month to nearly 300 (mostly non-Christians in this area). We're going to be mailing it out in the next few days. I also am beginning today a series of radio broadcasts on the error of the Watch Tower Society (their failed prophecies and their false teachings). We have a weekly radio program on the local AM station. By the way, we are now adding our radio broadcasts to the website, so go check that out if you are interested.
As you can see, we are doing some good things here in Spruce Pine. Although the area is a Baptist stronghold, and while it is really hard to set up studies with individuals here, we are making progress. Of course, we are always making progress if we are spreading God's word. After all, our goal is not to convert people, but to teach the truth.
On a...well, secular note, or marital note, today is mine and Amber's fourth anniversary. In these four years, we have grown together and we have such a wonderful marriage. And we also have managed to bring forth two children (and another one is due in October). She has a cold, though, so that may affect our plans tonight, but if she does begin to feel better, we're going to drop the kids off with a Christian family and then go out on a date...to eat and then to see a play.
