Friday, November 25, 2011

His Cross is my Cross

From a sermon by AW Tozer:
To take Jesus Christ into your life without reservation is to accept His friends as your friends and to know that His enemies will be your enemies! It means that we accept His rejection as our rejection. We knowingly accept His cross as our cross.

If you then find yourself in an area where Christ has no friends, you will be friendless, except for the one Friend who will stick closer than a brother. I made up my mind a long time ago. Those who declare themselves enemies of Jesus Christ must look upon me as their enemy, and I ask no quarter from them! And if they are friends of Christ they are my friends, and I do not care what color they are or what denomination they belong to.

If the preachers would faithfully tell the people what it actually means to receive Christ and obey Him and live for Him, we would have fewer converts backsliding and foundering.

Preachers who are not faithful one day will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and answer to a faithful Savior why they betrayed His people in this way!

We must pray for and encourage those who are living and serving in those areas that are not friendly to Christ. What shall we say however, about professing Christians (not just preachers) who live in lands still relatively from from persecution? Many have compromised their beliefs and become so entangled with this present world that their faith is barely recognizable. Christians used to view the world as a battlefield, but too many now consider it a playground instead. Rather than holding to the historical doctrines of the Faith, many have now embraced a hybrid creed, interbred with worldly ideology.

We as the Church are called to be holy and set apart, to stand firmly on biblical principles when confronted with moral, ethical and spiritual issues; whether in the social, political, religious or any other realm. We can not remain neutral. We must choose whom we will serve, a choice that leads to either life or death (Dt 30:19). We must say with Joshua, "as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Jsh 24:15).

We are called to transform the world, not to assimilate into it.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Veterans Day 2011

On this Veterans Day, we say a special "Thank You" for all our military personnel, bravely serving our country and fighting for our freedoms. God bless our troops.

Other Tributes:

Veterans Day 2011 Drawings

Veterans Day 2010 Video

Veterans Day 2009 - History

Thursday, November 10, 2011

US Marines 236th Birthday

Today is the 236th Birthday of the US Marines. Justin is currently deployed again on special assignment in Afghanistan. His first tour of duty was with 3/7 Kilo Company in 2010. The 3/7 is also current serving in Afghanistan and has recently suffered the loss of several brave men. We're asking for your continued prayer and support for all our brave troops and their families.

The following is an incredible video shot during the 2010 Operation Enduring Freedom campaign. Justin appears in several locations, but is most visible firing from a compound at about the 6 minute mark and sitting in the second row about 7:15 into the video. Happy Birthday and Semper Fi to all the Marines!