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GREED

By Florida Senator John Grant, Retired

Week Fifty-One, 2019

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Luke 12:15

How much money is enough money? For John D. Rockefeller the answer was “just a little bit more.” At the peak of his wealth, Rockefeller had a net worth of about 1% of the entire US economy. He owned 90% of all the oil & gas industry of his time. Compared to today’s rich guys, Rockefeller makes Bill Gates and Warren Buffett look like paupers. And yet he still wanted “just a little bit more.”

Before you can know how much is enough, you’ve got to define enough. It isn’t just an amount. It is also an attitude. Money is wonderful as a tool, but it’s terrible as a tyrant. And therein lies the difference. What is it that you want out of money and the possessions it buys?

As Dwight Short said, “When I pull into my driveway and spend more time looking at my neighbor’s new car than I do checking to make sure my garage door is open, you should understand envy.”

The decisions I’ve made in my personal life have helped me resist the temptations I face in my professional life. I was blessed early in my career and was given wise counsel to cap my income and live below my means. Money itself isn’t evil, but the love of it is the root of all kinds of evil. (1 Timothy 6:10)

Excess possessions rob us of time, money, energy, and focus. As the old proverb goes, “Those who buy what they do not need steal from themselves.” Excess possessions add stress, worry, and burden. As Randy Alcorn writes, “Every increased possession adds increased anxiety onto our lives.”

Our lives have become busy, hurried, rushed, and stressed because we own too much stuff! Consider this: Never in human history have individuals owned as much stuff as they do today.

But there is freedom in owning less—if only we could catch our breath long enough to take hold of it. Some of us have become so busy pursuing, accumulating, and caring for our things, we can’t even find the time to remove those that are no longer needed. How long have the shelves in your garage needed sorting? Or the clothes in your closet needed to be gone through?

Minimizing possessions takes work (especially if you have a lot to begin with). It takes effort and energy and an investment of time. And if both parents are working jobs to make ends meet, finding extra time to own less can be tough. It can be hard enough to minimize just one room of a house—much less an entire home. On the other hand, it is essential we find the time to reclaim our lives. Any time invested minimizing your possessions is never wasted.

Billions are spent each year convincing you to become greedy. You just need more and more. The Bible tells us to be content with less and less. Life will take on new meaning and contentment when we learn to be happy with what we have.

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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

COHABITATION:

For the first time in our history, more Americans have lived with a romantic partner than have married one. According to Pew Research Center’s new study, the number of those who have ever married has fallen from 60 percent in 2002 to 50 percent today, while the number who have cohabited without being married has grown from 54 percent to 59 percent.

The study also reports that 69 percent of Americans say it is acceptable for a couple to live together even if they don’t plan to get married. Sixteen percent agree with cohabiting if the couple plans to marry. Only 14 percent of us believe it is “never acceptable” for a couple to live together before marriage.

Scripture teaches that God created us as male and female (Genesis 1:27) and that he intends a man and woman to experience sexual union only in marriage (Genesis 2:24). Jesus clearly affirmed these biblical texts, then stated, “What, therefore; God has joined together, let not man separate”.(Matthew 19:6).

God’s word states that “each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:2–3). Scripture adds: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Hebrews 13:4).

How different would our culture be today if each of us remained chaste before marriage and faithful to our spouse within it? Imagine a world without pornography, prostitution, sex trafficking, and adultery.

This is the freedom and purity God intends for us. Jim Denison

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Every minute, your heart pumps about five quarts of blood through a system of blood vessels that’s over 60,000 miles long, according to the Cleveland Clinic. That translates to about 2,000 gallons of blood every day.

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Florida’s average student loan debt is nearly $35,000 with a statewide total of $76 billion.

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Welcome to the new Orwellian world where censorship is free speech and we respect the past by attempting to edit it.

No-privacy

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QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Lawmaker Calls Miscarried Babies a “Mess on a Napkin”

When people try to avoid suffering by sinning, they end up sinning their way into suffering. Lecrae Moore

When I pray, I am depending on God. When I don’t pray I am relying on myself. Dr. Ronnie Floyd

God invites each of us on a journey. Ken Whitten

If you don’t know what you have you are going to miss what you got. Pastor John Onwuchekwa

Don’t do it your way, do it Yahweh. Sol Pitchon

There is no book in the Bible that routs out more worldly views and conduct than Romans. Dr. Jim Smith

It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference. Tom Brokaw

Kill sin or sin will kill you. John Piper

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Blogs

GOD’S WARnings

By Florida Senator John Grant, Retired

Week Fifty, 2019

GOD’S WARNINGS

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 25:42-44).

The final eruption of Mount St. Helens in May of 1980 was not a sudden event. For two months prior to the massive blast—the most deadly and destructive in American history—earthquakes and volcanic activity signaled a major event was underway. Authorities had plenty of time to sound the alarm and warn those living nearby of the looming danger. Yet despite the seriousness of the threat, some people chose to disregard the warnings.

Probably the best known of those who refused to evacuate was Harry Randall Truman. The eighty-three-year-old man was the owner and caretaker at the Mount St. Helens Lodge at Spirit Lake. He had survived the sinking of his troop ship by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland during World War I, and he was not about to leave just because scientists thought there was danger.

“I don’t have any idea whether it will blow,” Truman told reporters. “But I don’t believe it to the point that I’m going to pack up.” On May 18, 1980, Truman and his lodge were buried beneath 150 feet of mud and debris from the volcanic eruption. His body was never found.

We shake our heads and wonder why someone would be so foolish as to disregard a life-threatening warning. Yet, we see young people jumping off bridges just for fun, with warning signs, “No diving.” A hurricane approaches the coast, and warnings are issued to evacuate. But there are always people who refuse and say “I’m going to ride it out.” Some survive. But sadly, others lose their lives.

Not only does the Bible warn us about being ready for the second coming of Christ, it is a handbook on how to resist temptation and beware of false teachers and be on guard against the schemes of Satan. The apostle Peter put it this way: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking whom he may devour.”

We must be awake to the devious devices of the Devil to trip and trap us. Unwholesome entertainment, lurid literature, Internet pornography, trashy TV shows and movies, raunchy music and anything else that appeals to lustful thoughts, lewd feelings, and lascivious actions.

The admonition of Jesus has never been more appropriate than it is today. Christ is coming again. Stay focused. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Be filled with God’s Word. Pray fervently. Fellowship with people of faith. You never know when Satan will strike.

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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Attorney General William Barr is making headlines for a speech he delivered at Notre Dame University’s law school recently. Barr, a devout Catholic, told faculty and students that “the problem is not that religion is being forced on others, the problem is that irreligion is being forced—secular values are being forced on people of faith.”

Barr adds: “Among the militant secularists are many so-called progressives. But where is the progress? We are told we are living in a post-Christian era, but what has replaced the Judeo-Christian moral system? What is it that can fill the spiritual void in the heart of the individual person? And what is the system of values that can sustain human social life?”

The attorney general said of the moral problems we are facing, “This is not decay. This is organized destruction. Secular forces and their allies have marshaled all the forces of mass communication, popular culture, the entertainment industry, and academia, in an unremitting assault on religion and traditional values.”

I believe Attorney General Barr is absolutely right.

Here’s why we are here: Many in our culture believe the lie that all truth claims are subjective impositions of personal power on others. Tolerance of all viewpoints must; therefore, be mandated, except, of course, for viewpoints deemed intolerant.

According to this agenda, the freedom to express religious beliefs ends where such freedom is deemed harmful to or by another person. Any person. Of course, the harm done to the person expressing his or her religious beliefs is ignored.

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Scripture calls us to “be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15). In that light, we should heed the warning of the eighteenth-century scientist G. C. Lichtenberg: “Never undertake anything for which you wouldn’t have the courage to ask the blessing of heaven.”

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“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it political?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

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QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Jesus‘ need for me is as constant as the outflow of my love to Him.

Evangelism – A group of “ordinary” Christians living intentionally in a city to bring joy to it through the gospel of Jesus Christ through Word and deed.

Not everyone who believes and is baptized is a real disciple. Ken Whitten

Death is just a comma to Christ, not a period.

The problem with heroes is that eventually they end up showing their humanity and shatter our glittering image of who they really are. Dwight Short

We need to teach others what we believe, but equally we must teach why we believe what we believe. Josh McDowell

The higher the summit, the harder the climb. Jim Denison

Oswald Chambers: “The true mark of the saint is that he can waive his own rights and obey the Lord Jesus.”

Max Lucado noted: “God never said that the journey would be easy, but he did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.”

Encouragement provides us with motivation to persevere. It invites us to dream dreams of significance for our lives. And it begs us to work diligently with optimism and promise.

Blogs

Dancing at My Funeral

Week Forty-Nine, 2019
DANCING AT MY FUNERAL

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

His book made a great impression on me when I read it several decades ago. Written by Maxie Dunnam, Dancing at My Funeral, is a classic. It gave me a whole new perspective on death and dying and a great move forward in my Christian faith.

What if the Christian community suddenly became known as the people who celebrated funerals? And we really mean party! What if we did it so often—and so big—that people started to notice? And what if the culture started asking why?

Why do we cry at funerals? What if Christians became known as the people who celebrate departures from this world? What if we made our memorial services bigger and better than the best wedding you’ve ever attended?

How would that impact the culture’s perception of how seriously we believe what the Bible says? And what would it say about heaven? What will your funeral say about your faith and how will it influence others in their faith walk? Should those in attendance clearly hear the Gospel?

A friend of mine was a funeral director. He had witnessed and conducted hundreds of funerals. I remember him saying that funerals should reflect the way the deceased lived.

We all have an expiration date. We just don’t know when, where or how. Sooner or later we will all be faced with death. For Christians, our funeral should be a time of joy and a time to celebrate, for it marks, not a death, but a rite of passage to a greater life beyond.

When we die, our spirit and body separate. Even though our body dies, our spirit—which is the essence of who we are—lives on. We celebrate other times and events of the passage of life, why not our funeral?

I’m looking forward to my funeral, hopefully, not occurring soon. I want it to be a soundtrack of my life…. well most of it. I want the Gospel preached and I want people to know of my assurance as to my next stop after this earthly life. The best is yet to come.

If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I’ll never speak to them again!

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

THE POWER STRIP:

Lynsi Snyder describes this culture-changing lifestyle well: “Picture our lives being a power strip. We plug so many things into the power strip—work, family, hobbies, and God. But that is all wrong. God must be the power strip and everything in our life should be plugged into Him as our power source. He gives us life and then we have His power in everything we do. “He shouldn’t be one of the ‘plug-ins’ in our life, but rather we should live plugged into Him and the calling He has for us.”

Who is your power strip today? God must be the power strip. Jim Denison

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As the weeks fly past, it is important to be intentional about certain things, lest we be held captive by the “tyranny of the urgent” for our entire lives. While all of us want to “finish strong,” we are often distracted by things that diminish our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength. Ultimately this can lead to a lack of will to do the things which are truly significant or we lack the conviction to stand firm when our “day of distress” arrives. Lt. Gen Robert Dees

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Half a million bats live at the University of Florida. Their spooky night flights draw scores of tourists. Since 1991, the University of Florida has maintained houses to accommodate its massive population of bats — about half a million now, making it the largest bat population in a human-made structure in the world.

Nearly every night, the bats leave their houses about 15 minutes after sunset to eat an estimated 2½ billion insects. The bats’ exodus has attracted scores of spectators, but getting them to live in the houses hasn’t always been easy.

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BUSY?

And then it becomes a rationalization: I can’t honor my commitments because I’m too busy! I can’t be with my family or friends because I’m too busy. I can’t work out, meditate, shut down at night to get to sleep, or make time for solitude and disconnection … because I’m too busy.

Most of us have used this “too busy” rationalization, because it feels very true. It feels absolutely true that we’re too busy. And there’s a corollary to this: if we want to be less busy, we have to get all our work done first (and be busier in the meantime).

Is it true? Or can we develop a habit of not being busy, even with the same workload? We need to get at the heart of this always-busy habit, and then reverse it. Leo Babuta

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

The great gift of God in prayer is Himself. Maxie Dunnam

There is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart. Charles Dickens

While Saul was seeking Jesus, Jesus was seeking Saul. Pastor Andrew Evans

A Jewish mother is a travel agent for guilt trips. Sol Pitchon

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. John F. Kennedy

Prayer does not fit us for the greater works; prayer is the greater work. Oswald Chambers

Life on earth has sharp teeth. Lecrae Moore

Do you see obstacles or opportunities? Pastor John Onwuchekwa

The devil doesn’t care what we depend on as long as it isn’t the Holy Spirit.

The worst of times are often the best of times. It just doesn’t feel like it at the time.

Sentimentality is the enemy of simplicity.

Blogs, Jeremy Stopford

“HEAVENLY CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS”

By Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford
 Delivered at Smyrna (NY) Baptist Church

December 1st, 2019

TODAY’S “SPECIAL”:

“A New Bride Funny”
 A young man and his new bride take their honeymoon to the old Soviet Union.
On the first day of their stay, they were to go on an excursion over the mountains with their tour guide, Rudy.
As they were heading out of their hotel room the young man grabbed an umbrella.
“Why on earth are you taking an umbrella?” the puzzled bride asked.
“Because our tour guide told me to. He says it is going to rain.”
“Well, that’s the stupidest thing I ever heard,” the bride exclaimed. “There is not a cloud in sight.”
The wise new groom explains, “of course, I will take our umbrella. Because we can be sure, Rudy the Red knows rain, dear”

INTRODUCTION

One of my earthly treasures is an autographed copy of a book, given to me – according to the inscription – within a week after I was born. It was signed by Robert May, a classmate of my dad’s from the Dartmouth College Class of 1926. He wrote the book, a delightful children’s book which has become world famous. Yes, the book is “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer”.
Dad also had another classmate, named Ted Geisel. He later changed his name. Do you know to what? Yep – Dr. Seuss.
Both Dr. Seuss and Bob May have been greatly used to bring temporal joy to generations of children – and perhaps their parents as well. “Temporal” – that means “earthly, short lasting”. It doesn’t have a viewpoint of eternity, does it?
In our morning “scripture reading”, we read what are always challenging verses from Isaiah chapters 6 and 9. In chapter 6, Isaiah is presented with the holiness of God. And in chapter 9, Isaiah comes face to face with the truth about the coming of the Messiah and Who He is: Wonderful, Councilor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Why are these important for us as we enter a new Christmas season?
Well let me first ask you: How many of you are done with your Christmas planning? Presents bought and wrapped? Meals thought out? Cards written and sent? A full Christmas involves work! Work! Work!
And our loving Father has been planning, too! Our Great God is teaching us that everything He does throughout eternity has purpose, governed by His holiness and guided to glorify His Son. He has been planning for Christmas for a long time!
And the Bible does not hide from His children what plans the Father has been making! Let’s look at some of them this morning!
PRAYER 

1 THE WORD (Matt. 13:35; Psalm 78)

We are introduced to “Parables” in Matt. 13:1-3
“Earthly story with an heavenly meaning”. Perhaps as He’s teaching, He sees a farmer…points to him, and then tells an heavenly story – an illustration – related to an earthly person or event with which His listeners would be familiar
CF. vs. 10-11 (the “why” of parables); vs. 18, 24, 31, 33

  • Matt. 13:34,35 – the disciples were entering a time frame of the fulfillment of Scripture especially prepared for that moment!
  • See Psalm 78:1-7 [ALWAYS check out the OT source of a NT quoted verse! We may learn its original purpose!) The purpose of this ff is that GENERATIONS may know the Lord!
    Application: IF the Word of God has been prepared as a special love gift for God’s children since the foundation of the world, what priority does the Word have in your life? 
    But wait, there’s more!

2 THE COMMUNION (John 17:24)

In John 17, Jesus enters into prayer with His Father. Most scholars believe that John has put to print here the reasonably full text of Jesus’ prayer prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane. For at the start of John 18 is Judas’ betrayal and Jesus’ arrest.
So what did He pray? What would you pray if you knew your life was about to end – or better, as in Jesus’ case – the purpose for which you came to earth was about to be done?
“Communion” is a word we often relegate to the breaking of the bread and the serving of the wine. But it also refers to the fellowship enjoyed between two people. John 17 is an insight into the fellowship of the Son with the Father.
Let’s listen in…verses 1-5 Here we are introduced to an eternal fellowship, eternal communion. If you had all of eternity to do something, would you spend it all in prayer-talk with your father? Jesus did! Phil. 2:6 tells us that Jesus set aside the independent exercise of His glory so that He could become a man. But since before the world’s foundation, the Son enjoyed a mutual glory.
Vs. 8, 17 Part 1 of our message is a major part of Jesus’ interaction with His disciples: the sharing of the Father’s words through the Son to the disciples. SO do we read God’s Word that way?
Verse 20 It is safe to say that we are prayed for here! But note: He says that He is praying for those who will believe as a result of the disciples giving their word. APPLICATION So…Jesus in turn is praying for those to whom we give His word, and who believe as a result. So that should encourage us to be active sharers of His Word to those He has put in our path – because He has already prayed for…them!
Verse 24 This is where faith becomes sight! The Father has loved the Son before the foundation of the world. Jeremiah 31:3: “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jesus wants His children to enter into this everlasting love which He has enjoyed for beyond all eternity! Wow.
APPLICATION #2 So if soon our faith will be sight, and we as believers in Christ will be enjoying an everlasting communion that the Son has enjoyed with the Father since before the foundation of the world, what is tying us down to this world? To what earthly goals are we seeking? And am I daily enjoying sweet communion with my Father, sweet communion that He can’t wait to have us enjoy face to face?

3. THE CHOICE (Eph. 1:4)

We’re not going to turn here, but another classic verse in this subject of the “heavenly Christmas preparations” would have to be Ephesians 1:4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love”. This is one of those loaded passages. I didn’t choose Him – He chose me first! Theologians attempt to wisely explain this by showing the pattern of our salvation. We hear the invitation, “whosoever will may come.” We go through that door of faith, trusting that the offer of salvation through the work of the cross is true. And as we go through that open door of faith, we look back and see written on the other side of the door the words, “chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.”

But don’t let those words stymie you. For the rest of the verse says that His choice brings an eternal purpose with it: that we should be holy and blameless – living a life of truth and trust, not only representing the Savior in our lifestyle, but also pointing the next generation to His invitation – the same one we received when we first came: “whosoever will may come.”
 

4 THE BIG PLAN (1 Peter 1:18-21)

1 Peter 1 in the Greek is a run-on sentence. If the Apostle Peter were in my 11th grade English teacher’s class, Mrs. DeTurk would have failed him royally. But the key is this: Peter is so excited, so overwhelmed with the truth that the Father is sharing with Him, that he can hardly get a breath in.
For it is in these verses that we begin to understand all that the Father was doing before the foundation of the world: the Word, the communion, the choice all lead to the big plan.
Listen to just verses 18-20, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you…”.
Take a breath Peter! The Father’s big plan from before the foundation of the world is the sending His Son to the cross – and Peter saw that plan in action. And in turn so do we!
Application: the entire text is a vivid one. It calls for a foundation of faith in that cross. And it calls for a faith in action by daily living for His glory through obeying the truth.
Isn’t it amazing that the Father wants us to apply His Big “Before the foundation of the world” Plan to our lives?
But wait…before we go we need to see…Christmas!

CONCLUSION

Christmas, the preparation put to action!
Galatians 4:4,5: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
As we close, picture your filling a glass of water. When the glass has so much water in it that you can’t put any more in, then we call it “full” – and perhaps spilling over, right?
And that’s what has happened here! Time filled up! God’s “heavenly Christmas preparations” were complete!

And a Baby was born in the manger.

  • Have you trusted Him as your Savior?
  • Are you walking with Him daily in His Word?
  • Are you sharing His Word with those He has placed in your pathways?
  • Are you part of His “heavenly Christmas preparations” in order that the next generation after us will know Him? Close in prayer
Blogs, John Grant

The Universal Gospel

Week Forty-Eight, 2019

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16:15

While Mahatma Gandhi was a practicing Hindu, Christianity intrigued him. In his reading of the Gospels, Gandhi was impressed by Jesus whom Christians worshipped and followed. He wanted to know more about this Jesus that Christians referred to as “the Christ, the Messiah.”

One Sunday morning Gandhi decided that he would visit one of the Christian churches in Calcutta. Upon seeking entrance to the church sanctuary, he was stopped at the door by the ushers.

He was told he was not welcome, nor would he be permitted to attend this particular church as it was for high-caste Indians and whites only. He was neither high caste, nor was he white. Because of the rejection, Mahatma turned his back on Christianity.

With this act, Gandhi rejected the Christian faith, never again to consider the claims of Christ. He was turned off by the sin of segregation that was practiced by the church. It was due to this experience that Gandhi later declared, “I’d be a Christian if it were not for the Christians.”

Do Christian churches practice selective admission? Are some people more welcome than others? We are called to be racially and culturally inclusive.

As a young boy, I attended a rural southern church that had a policy on how to handle a black person who might seek admission to worship. The ushers were to immediately escort someone of another race out of the church and then the preaching of the Gospel would continue.

Are churches much better today? If someone dressed like they were homeless and who smelled like it sat down in a pew next to you, would you shake their hand and invite them to attend your Sunday School class? While churches have gone past selective admission, don’t we too often practice selective inclusion?

God has no partiality. He saves anyone who believes the Gospel, no matter where they are from, how they are dressed or the color of their skin. God will not reject anyone who comes to Him. The Gospel is for everyone. If we repent of our sin and believe in Christ, we will be saved. That is the message of the Gospel.

The Gospel is not just for the unsaved… we all need it every day and it is not just for people like us. It is for all whom God has created. The Gospel is the message God has given us. Only the Gospel can save us.

Sadly, there are people today who, like Gandhi who can say they “would be a Christian if it weren’t for the Christians.”

Remember, whether it is Little League or in the pros, the dimensions of second base are always the same.

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

The Church was never meant to be a building. It is a movement of God’s people. You have a sphere of influence no one else has. Be bold and join the movement. Idlewild Baptist Church

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A Thoughts on Life note from a reader in Kenya:

Let us always thank God for what He has done to us day by day. May God bless the message that I have read, Thanks and may God bless you boundedly. Pray for me to have the Heart of giving and helping the needy people.

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Albert Einstein confessed to Time magazine: Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing the truth. I had never any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once, despised, I now praise unreservedly.

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The human eye has more than 2 million working parts and is capable of focusing at 50+ different things in any given second. Muscles responsible for controlling the eyes are the most active muscles in the entire human body.

— o —

According to a YouGov survey, 45 percent of Americans believe ghosts exist. Forty-three percent think ghosts can come back to haunt people or places.

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Nearly 20% of all medical doctors have a problem with alcohol and substance abuse.

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The World Health Organization estimates there are over 200 million alcoholics worldwide. An estimated 88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes every year in the United States. Over 10,00 people die every year on US highways due to crashes that involve alcohol-impaired drivers. The misuse of alcohol costs the US over $249 billion annually.

Solomon was right when he wrote, “Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise (Prov 20:2) Is it worth the risk?

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

There’s more grace and mercy in Christ than there is sin in us. Edgar Aponte

If we approach each day with the knowledge that the Lord can use us in ways we might not expect, and the willingness to allow him to do so, then we open the doors to endless possibilities. Ryan Denison

Rather than thinking about the world in the categories of simply good and evil, a biblical worldview helps us think in categories of good and redeemable. Lecrae Moore

Avoiding bitterness is key to a healthy and joyful life. Bitterness is the poison we drink to kill someone else — how crazy is that! In our culture of microaggressions, safe spaces, and trigger warnings; bitterness has grown to epidemic proportions with many carrying a “Spirit of Offense” into every life encounter. God’s primary antidotes for bitterness are forgiveness and gratitude. Resilient Warrior

If you worship money you will never have enough. Pastor John Onwuchekwa

Love is not an emotion. It is an action to be demonstrated. Pastor Andrew Evans

Jonathan Edwards noted: The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh.

Pastor Jim Cymbala: We need the power of God more than prosperity. The word of God can only be carried on by the power of God. The church is a spiritual organism fighting spiritual battles: only spiritual power can make it perform as God ordained.

Blogs, John Grant

Giving Thanks

By Florida Senator John Grant, Retired

Week Forty-Seven, 2019
GIVING THANKS

By Florida Senator John Grant, Retired

From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained. Jeremiah 30.19

We were slightly hesitant as we drove to an economically lesser part of a strange country. We were there on mission to help refugees who fled from their neighboring homeland. They appreciated our work to help them and one family invited us to their less than modest small apartment for dinner with the family.

Their home was impeccably clean, and they so welcomed us. While the husband was cooking over charcoal on a grill on the balcony, we visited with the wife and two ever so polite teenage sons. As we ate, they told us their story, how they fled their homeland on foot, each with a small child in one arm and a bag of belongings on the other. They left everything, but they gained freedom in a new land. They exuded thankfulness for what they had.

I listened with tears in my eyes, as I thought of all I had back home and thought of what it would be like to leave it all in order to be free. I have so much, and they have so little, but they had and were thankful for that which mattered…. Faith, family and freedom.

This week, all across America, families and groups will join to celebrate Thanksgiving. It is my most favorite holiday. No commercialism, no last minute shopping….. just family time together to stop and give thanks.

As Christians we should give thanks in all things, and at all times to God the father through Christ Jesus. He has given us all we have and saved us from our sin. Giving thanks is the least we can do.

Psalm 107:1 (NIV) -“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) – “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Colossians 4:2 (NIV) – “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

What will you thank God for this Thanksgiving?

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Howard Hendricks tells a great story when he was on an American Airline flight after a very long delay. A man who had too much to drink was being rude to the other passengers. He was demanding with the flight attendants. And in a word just plain obnoxious!

Hendricks watched this flight attendant treat this unpleasant man with class, dignity and professionalism. She was unruffled. When he was rude, she was polite. When he was uncaring, she was kind.

Howard was so impressed that he walked back to the plane to commend the flight attendant. He told her what a good job she did. How impressed he was. And that he was going to write a letter of commendation to American Airlines.

In response, she said, “Thank you sir, but I don’t work for American Airlines.” Hendricks was briefly baffled until she added, “I work for Jesus Christ.”

Who do you work for?

— o —

Because Jesus humbled Himself for us, it is our duty, obligation, and joy to humble ourselves as well. But to adjust ourselves into a radically humble lifestyle to escape the clutches of that other god, the question we must ask ourselves is this: Have we lived so long worshipping our own egos that we’ve lost our ability—perhaps even our desire—to humble ourselves as Christ did?”

— o —

• French philosopher Blaise Pascal said, “There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who think they are sinners and the sinners who think they are righteous.

• What storms have you allowed to rob you of God’s peace and assurance? What storms have caused you to forget—that no matter what is going on around you—God is still with you? Don’t let what is around you control you. Scott Whitaker

• What does it mean to be a “culture-changing Christian”?

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

We know how to organize warfare, but do we know how to act when confronted with peace? Jacques Cousteau

Ships are safe in port, but that’s not what ships were built for. Brig Sorber

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. Ronald Reagan

Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy cows and cows produce milk and milk makes ice cream and ice cream brings happiness.

Never leave home without a kiss, a hug and an I love you. Then remove the dog hair from your mouth as you walk to your car.

We are not cisterns made for hoarding, but channels made for sharing.
Billy Graham

Buying things isn’t bad or wrong, but shopping to feel a certain way, or to prove yourself to others or because you think something will make you feel happier or more successful doesn’t work.

We are all called to do, not extraordinary things, but very ordinary things, with an extraordinary love that flows from the heart of God.—Jeane Vanier

If we are to better the future, we must disturb the present.—Catherine Booth, co-founder of the Salvation Army.

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A place to stand

By Florida Senator John Grant, Retired

Week Forty-Six, 2019
A PLACE TO STAND

By Florida Senator John Grant, Retired

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land – from Gilead to Dan. Deuteronomy 34:1

Moses did it and it was on my bucket list as well. Well, I finally did it a few weeks ago. I climbed to the top of Mt. Nebo and stared into the Promised Land. I use the word climb loosely. Actually, I walked up the path from the parking lot, but none-the-less I reached the pinnacle, elevation 2300 feet and looked to the West and saw what Moses saw.

The Dead Sea (elevation -1300) and the River Jordan were stretched out below to my left and to my right I looked up towards Jerusalem in the distance. I was awed by just being there. It was Moses’ last stand. God called him there. After years of leading God’s people in the wilderness, his mission was over, and God forbade him to cross into Canaan.
desert

Taking a stand is important. Archimedes credited with discovering leverage said: “Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth. Give me a fulcrum, and I shall move the world. Give me a firm spot on which to stand, and I shall move the earth.”

There are commands to take a stand in Scripture that are repeated many times. The call to ‘stand firm’ is one of those commands. It appears all throughout the Bible. “Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13

Like God called Moses to a place to stand, so too does He call us to take a stand… a stand for our faith. There is no doubt our great nation is at a crossroads, and the church of Jesus Christ needs to take a stand, individually and collectively. Being a Christian means taking a stand for Christ. Although undoubtedly sometimes difficult, the decision to stand up for Jesus is absolutely necessary, and any serious Christ-follower should make it.

Where would our culture be today if the Church and individual Christians stood up and stood firm for a Biblical world view? Does our walk match our talk? Do we take a stand for our faith when it is convenient and then waffle when it might cause us social or economic pain?

Are you willing to stand firm for Christ even if it hurts?
stand-firm

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Why do optimistic people live longer?

You and I can neither predict nor control the future, but we can control how we respond to its unpredictability. Our response, in turn, plays a pivotal role in our personal future.

A new study suggests that people who tend to be optimistic are likelier than others to live to be eighty-five years old or more. Researchers from Boston University and Harvard found that the most optimistic men and women demonstrated, on average, an 11–15 percent longer lifespan.

How can we become more optimistic? A clinical health psychologist explained that she works with patients to “uncover systems of beliefs and assumptions people are making about themselves in their lives” so they can “begin to change those.”

When we begin making optimistic assumptions, our attitudes toward our experiences become more positive, our stress levels respond, and our physical health can improve as well. In other words, when we choose to view life positively, life often responds in kind. Jim Denison

— o —

New Jersey has rapidly caught up with Nevada in the race to be the nation’s biggest sports-betting market. Online gamblers now account for about 80% of all legal wagers on games in New Jersey, which surpassed Nevada for the first time in May in monthly sports bets. But as other states have waded into sports gambling, some are restricting it to physical locations like casinos, hesitating on mobile betting. More states will be launching sports betting in the coming months, as the NFL season gets underway and baseball playoffs approach. The trend toward mobile betting, following in the footsteps of popular mobile betting in Europe, is clear.

— o —

• Researchers predict that cancer will become the leading cause of death in the US by next year.

• Google, YouTube fined a record $171 million for violating children’s privacy.

• Hold up, diet soda drinkers. Regular consumption of soft drinks – both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened – was associated with a greater risk of all causes of death, according to new research published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Participants who drank two or more glasses of soft drinks per day had a higher risk of mortality than those who consumed less than one glass per month.

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Overcoming consumerism is an essential step in living a simplified life. Even more, it is an important step in living a focused, intentional life—one that is lived to our greatest potential. The Millenalist

Nothing we do impresses God except when we allow Him to be God in our life. Dr. Jim Smith

All you need to do is look at what we have in the world and look at it carefully, and you’ll see that there must be a God who is infinite, eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, personal, emotional, volitional, moral, spiritual, aesthetic, holy, just, loving, and living. It’s all there. And you pick up the Bible, and the Bible substantiates every bit of that. GOD IS!” John MacArthur

The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet—that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Jesus did not say that the whole world should go to church. But He did say that the church should go to the whole world. Pastor Greg Laurie

The hallmark of a healthy society has always been measured by how it cares for the disadvantaged. Author and Ministry Leader Joni Eareckson Tada

The ideas that shape politics and a culture are rarely advanced by argument. Rather, they are advanced by the stories that shape our imaginations. Warren Cole Smith and John Stonestreet, Restoring All Things.

R. C. Sproul has written, “God can use the smallest words that we speak, the smallest service that we give, and bring a kingdom out of it.

Albert Einstein once said, “Nothing happens until something moves.”

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FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY

By Florida Senator John Grant, Retired

Week Forty-Four, 2019

FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY

By John Grant

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

Coach Tony Bennett is making headlines… good ones. He recently declined what his employer called a “substantial” raise so others could make more money, after his Virginia Cavaliers won this year’s NCAA national basketball championship. He told his players: “Promise me you will remain humble and thankful for this. Don’t let this change you. It doesn’t have to.”

Coach Tony Bennett is making news not just for what he does, but for who he is. When his team won the national title last April, Bennett told a post-game interviewer, “I do want to thank the Lord and my Savior.” He regularly prays for his players in the hope that “they’ll be able to find the truth in their lives that has really transformed my life.”

He has built his basketball program around the biblical principles of humility, passion, unity, servanthood, and thankfulness. He calls them the “Five Pillars.” He posted them in Virginia’s locker room and emphasizes them in everything the team does.

It’s therefore not surprising that when the University of Virginia offered Bennett a large raise as a reward for winning the national title, the coach turned it down and redirected it to raise the salaries of his staff. “I have more than I need,” he said. “I’m blessed beyond what I deserve.”

Coach Bennett has life figured out: “If my life is just about winning championships—if it’s just about being the best—then I’m running the wrong race,” he says. “That’s empty. But if it’s about trying to be excellent and do things the right way, to honor the university that’s hired you, the athletic director you work for and the young men you’re coaching—always in the process trying to bring glory to God—then that’s the right thing.”

Jesus would agree with Coach Bennett. Our Lord taught us to “be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Here we find the folly of materialism. What we need most, our money is completely unable to buy. Trusting money not only relies on that which cannot save—it depends on that which corrupts and condemns.

By contrast, using money to glorify God and advance his kingdom turns the material into the spiritual and the temporal into the eternal.

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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Think about what Christ has done for me—and you. Think about what Christ did for us. That was God climbing up on the cross for us. What can we ever do to earn that? But earning it wasn’t the deal God put on the table. It was believing.

God did what He did to show us how much He loved us—just Grace, no condemnation. That was a picture of Grace we can never match by what we do. Just Grace—free for the asking. To believe in. To accept. Just believe and follow Him in His steps. Grace for me and for you.

Is He finished molding and growing us? No. But there’s no doubt about our relationship with Him.

Remember—it’s not about us. It’s all about Him, and what He did for us. It’s done! Claim it! Believe it! Pastor Scott Whitaker

— o —

A new study indicates that people who regularly work more than ten hours a day for at least fifty days a year are at a 29 percent greater risk of stroke. The risk rises to 45 percent for those who keep such a schedule for ten years.

The American Institute of Stress notes that 77 percent of us regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress. Forty-eight percent of us feel our stress has increased over the last five years and say stress has a negative impact on our personal and professional lives.

In related news, the CDC reports that the youth suicide rate increased 56 percent between 2007 and 2017. Experts point to a rise in depression, drug use, stress, and access to firearms. Some studies have linked smartphone use to anxiety, depression, and sleep deprivation. Jim Denison

— o —

The underground church in Iran is the fastest-growing Christian church in the world. Even Iran’s intelligence minister agrees that Christianity is spreading in his country.

— o —

64% of American teenagers rarely or never talk with their friends about religion according to the Pew Research Center.

— o —

If all you ever do is seek God’s hand, you may miss His face. But if you seek His face, He will gladly open His hand.

The Bible is not a book of suggestions or a list of best practices. It is the Word of God and not alterable. Ken Whitten

— o —

Planned Parenthood Pledges $45 Million to Pro-Abortion Candidates in 2020 Elections, a Reminder that Every Election Is a Choice Between Worldviews

— o —

By the year 2030, 1.2 billion women will be age 50 or older.

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QUOTES YOU CAN USE

My desire for acceptance is one of the crosses that I carry. Each morning I have to attend a funeral. My own. I have to wake up and once again die to my desires for people’s approval. Lecrae Moore

Christians should argue, but not be argumentative. Sean McDowell

We share hope on our knees before we share it anywhere else. Pastor John Onwuchekwa

Christ’s love received must become His love extended. Pastor Andrew Evans

You can’t get good fruit from a bad tree. Frank Camidge

The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith. Billy Graham

It’s difficult to identify a moral issue today in which our culture is aligned with the word of God. From abortion to euthanasia, sexuality to marriage, racism to poverty, our society is clearly and tragically going the wrong way. Jim Denison

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The Aspens

By Florida Senator John Grant, Retired

Week Forty-Three, 2019

THE ASPENS

But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand (Isaiah 64:8).

Fishlake National Forest sweeps across 107 acres of Utah. It is one of the world’s largest organisms, a forest of some 47,000 genetically identical quaking aspen trees, which all stem from a single root system that unites the forest. It is the biggest aspen “clone” ever identified; the single most massive living organism known on Earth. What appears to be a massive grove of thousands of individual trees is in fact one single tree, each genetically the same, sharing a single root system.

Compare that genetic sameness with God’s creation of people. We are all different. God created us all with unique features, personalities, and traits. We are not clones. We are all created unique and special. God is the potter and we are the clay. He made us all perfect having our own uniqueness, but different from anyone ever created. Some people have blue eyes, brown eyes, some people can do this, some people can do that, some people are right handed, some people are left handed. We were all made for a purpose.

God has a plan for everyone, and we are all an individual member of the body of Christ, but distinctively different from everyone else. You are a masterpiece. As you grow more and more as a Christian you will truly see how special and unique God created you. Wouldn’t an orchestra be boring if everyone played first violin?

Just as every snowflake is unique, every person is unique because God created him or her in his image—a simple reminder of God’s love for His creation. Millions of snowflakes fall every year around the world, and yet no two snowflakes are alike! Every single snowflake is completely unique.

Equally astounding is the variety of human beings who have lived, now live, and will ever live on the planet Earth. God has created each one of us as a unique creation. No one else is just like you. Your physical appearance, your voice and personality traits—your habits, intelligence, personal tastes—all these make you one of a kind. Even your fingerprints distinguish you from every other human being—past, present, or future. You are not the product of some cosmic assembly line; you are unique…. uniquely created by God, and He has a purpose for your like.

But the most important fact of your identity is that God created you in His own image (Genesis 1:27). He made you so you could share in His creation, could love and laugh and know Him person to person. You are special indeed.

What has God uniquely created you to do?

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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Lincoln’s Warning

Long before serving as America’s president, Abraham Lincoln delivered one of his earliest known speeches in 1838, at the age of 28. Known as Lincoln’s “Lyceum Address,” he warned that America faced a great danger. Here’s what he said:

“At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? … Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined … with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.

“At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? … If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”

— o —

Look at our culture and field of opportunity. Hillsborough and three other Florida counties have a majority non-white population. What is your ministry?

— o —

Often we have a consumeristic secular culture that focuses on what we want more than what others need. For followers of Jesus, however, manifesting his heart for the hurting is central to our faith and witness. Jim Denison

— o —

Oswald Chambers: “Our ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; the Biblical idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.” When we pray for suffering people, the Spirit joins our heart to the grieving heart of God and we weep as He weeps (John 11:35) “Prayer changes me and I change things.”

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QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Goodness without courage is useless.

Feed the white dog in your life and starve the black one. —Jim Huhta

Don’t get puffed up over success and don’t get destroyed by failure. —Cary Gaylord

Often, we have a consumeristic secular culture that focuses on what we want more than what others need. For followers of Jesus, however, manifesting his heart for the hurting is central to our faith and witness. —Jim Denison

Money is like a fire. If you use it wisely, it will keep you warm. But if you use it poorly it will burn your house down. —Brig Sorber

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When Bad Things Help

Week Forty-Two, 2019

By Florida Senator John Grant, Retired

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body…. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:8–10, 17–18).

At first it was a light pain and then it intensified. While I was in church that morning I was in a lot of pain. My wife insisted that we go to the ER and with her insistence, we did. An examination revealed that I had a large blood clot in my lower leg. I was immediately admitted and put on a blood thinner. After a couple of days, I was allowed to go home.

My cardiologist and friend heard I was there and came to visit. He said that as long as I was there, he was going to do a heart cath. He did and found that I had a significant blockage in my “widow maker” artery. He inserted a stent and all was well. My thought was what might have happened to me had I not had the clot and hospitalization. While the clot was not fun, it may have saved my life.

God does that …. Walking us through rough times to lead us where we otherwise would not have gone. James 1:1-4 tells us when we face trials, we can see it as a positive thing in our life because ultimately, we are going to grow from it. That’s hard to realize when our pain is all we can see and feel. But, after you’ve experienced life as a follower of Jesus, and you’ve experienced His faithfulness, then you know it’s true.

James regarded trials as inevitable. He said when, not if you fall into various trials. At the same time trials are occasions for joy, not discouraged resignation. We can count it all joy in the midst of trials because they are used to produce patience.

Faith is tested through trials, not produced by trials. Trials reveal what faith we do have; not because God doesn’t know how much faith we have, but so that our faith will be evident to ourselves and to those around us. Trouble is faith’s best friend

In God’s strange and wonderful ways of ruling this world, life’s most painful trials serve a special purpose for our good. God often draws his straightest lines from life’s greatest difficulties to our deepest and sweetest joys.

God’s preserving work in us through our pain and difficulty is essential to what matters most, and James makes that connection explicit: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12

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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

PORN IN THE CHURCH (A Barna Study)

• Most pastors (57%) and youth pastors (64%) admit they have struggled with porn, either currently or in the past.

• Overall, 21% of youth pastors and 14% of pastors admit they currently struggle with using porn.

• About 12% of youth pastors and 5% of pastors say they are addicted to porn

• 87% of pastors who use porn feel a great sense of shame about it.

• 55% of pastors who use porn say they live in constant fear of being discovered.

• The vast majority of faith leaders who struggle with porn say this has significantly affected their ministry in a negative manner. It is not clear why, but youth pastors are twice as likely as pastors to report this kind of unfavorable impact.

• Only 8% of pastors think that a pastor should resign his/her position if he is struggling with porn. Most pastors think he should deal with the struggle through counseling or accountability.

• In contrast, 41% of adult Christians think that pastors should be fired or asked to resign if they are found to be using porn.

• 93% of pastors and 94% of youth pastors say it is a much bigger or somewhat bigger problem than it was in the past.

• More than half of youth pastors have had at least one teen come to them for help in dealing with porn in the past 12 months.

• Although teens seeking help are mainly teen boys, there is still a significant amount of teen girls seeking help from youth pastors.

• Men of all ages and stages, but especially married men, are coming to pastors for help with pornography struggles.

• Despite the awareness of the problem, most churches do not have programs specifically designed to assist those struggling with porn use.

— o —

The emerging generation that calls the shots:

If you want to gain a following today, emphasize community and tolerance. That’s the message of a recent report in the Wall Street Journal.

Here’s the good news: a survey revealed that Americans believe strongly in the principles of hard work, patriotism, commitment to religion, and the goal of having children. Here’s the bad news: that survey was taken twenty-one years ago.

When the same survey was conducted recently, it found that “religion, belief in God” was valued by 67 percent of older adults (ages fifty-five to ninety-one) but only 30 percent of young adults (ages eighteen to thirty-eight). Patriotism values ranged from 79 percent for older adults to 42 percent for young adults. Having children ranged from 54 percent for older adults to 32 percent for young adults.

However, a higher percentage of young adults than older adults value community involvement (61 percent vs. 58 percent) and tolerance for others (83 percent vs. 79 percent).

One of the pollsters who conducted the report noted: “There’s an emerging America where issues like children, religion and patriotism are far less important. And in America, it’s the emerging generation that calls the shots about where the country is headed. Jim Denison

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QUOTES YOU CAN USE

But before God could change me, He needed to mature me. And before God could mature me, He needed to move me. Lecrae Moore

Obviously, I support abortion. I can’t believe people would want to protect unborn children. Taylor Swift

If you are not moving, you are not a part of the movement. Ken Whitten

Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Master Composer

We never win at money by comparing our possessions with others. The Minimalist

Partial obedience is joyless because it entails partial sacrifice, but forfeits what God can give only to those who are fully his.

Jonathan Edwards helped spark the First Great Awakening that transformed our colonial nation and is widely considered the greatest theologian America has ever produced. His secret? He lived by the resolution “never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.”

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