Waxing on the Power of Delusion

As I continue to observe the attitudes of Americans during this election, I am amazed by the power of delusion. The information that is available to the average person is virtually endless but most seem quite content to believe what they are told by the mainstream media even if they are told almost nothing but who to vote for.

We do not live in a communist country and we can find the truth if we want to it just seems that most don't want to.

How else could you explain the fact that when Americans are asked if they agree or disagree with a candidates plan without knowing which candidate holds such views, the overwhelming majority consistently disagrees with the same candidate who leads in the polls? What!?!?!

It is an amazing concept that is being demonstrated before our very eyes. Without a propaganda machine....OK so maybe there is a propaganda machine, but again, we can find the truth if we want to about a candidate.

I hope and pray that enough intelligient Americans wake up from the stupor that has gripped this nation and vote for the candidate that shares more of their real convictions and values. If not, access to the truth (and the freedom to speak it) may soon really be a thing of the past. Wake up America!!

Waxing on Seabass

So I am watching the end of the Browns-Redskins game today on CBS and as the game ends the broadcast goes to Oakland....what??!?!?! Yes!! The Raiders and Jets have gone to OT at 13 to 13.
It kind of brought back some old (nice) memories of nationally broadcast Raider games at Oakland Alameda Coliseum when my team were contenders every year. Even Dick Enberg was calling the plays.
I wanted to enjoy it but I just had that same sinking feeling that somehow the Raiders would lose...again. The Jets won the toss and got the ball first. I thought it was over but the Raider defense held. The Raider offense could do nothing and had to punt it back to the Jets. You could sense Enberg's desire to see Brett Favre pull one out for the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!! After 5 possessions, on third and long Favre heaved one down the field right into the Raiders' Michael Huffs' hands and he dropped it! That was the chance! The Jets punted. The Raiders got the ball again and the unthinkable happened...the Raider offense actually completed 2 significant pass plays! The Raiders were just inside of the range of Sebastian Janikowski's powerful leg but they needed to move closer....nothing doing. The Jets held. This was it. 4th down. Field Goal time. Seabass comes on the field and absolutely HAMMERS a 57 yarder that would have been good from 65!! Raiders win! Raiders win! Raiders win! And even Dick Enberg had to say "OOOOHH MYYY!!!"

Waxing on the Heart of a Nation

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
The months leading up to a Presidential Election are quite the spectacle in this country. There is no doubt that most of us see exactly what the "spin-doctors" intend for us to see. Images are created and sold that can both inspire and disgust. Votes will be cast based on some promises that are never intended to be kept and other promises that are simply impossible to keep. The American Public is convinced every 4 years that The Executive Branch of the United States Government will most certainly change the world and make their lives better.

Much of the Campaign is simply theater but if we read between the lines, and really look at what drives the decision of who will win the title of President of the United States, it is not just the candidates who need to be under the microscope of our incessant scrutiny. We don't need to worry only about the media who is so obviously biased at this point that they do not even defend themselves anymore.
The most sobering fact that this Presidential Race is revealing is the heart of this nation and these last few weeks have illuminated who is on the throne of this nation's heart. This is the most important issue that a Presidential Election reveals.

Oh we can cry out with nationalistic fervor and patriotism, proclaiming that we are a Christian nation, founded on godly principles and the tenets of scripture. We can decry the audacity of one of the candidates who said we are no longer a Christian nation.
We can fly flags and organize boycotts and do e-mail campaigns. We can talk of past associations and voting records, experience and lack of. We can listen to stump speeches and debates and analyze and argue, but the real heart of this nation is starting to be unveiled and this is what we need to face.
As the economic house of cards begins to quickly crumble, all other issues, opinions and convictions seem to have taken the back burner. The primary concern on the minds and hearts of Americans is now money...and more specifically, personal finances. When will this mess get straight? Who can do it? How much will this cost me???

I am not suggesting that this matter does not deserve serious attention but keep in mind that both of the candidates are US Senators. We pay them to make decisions and manage the US Government and they have apparently been unable to keep this collapse from happening. Why do we think they will suddenly have all the answers if they reside in the White House? I do not believe we can correct this problem through the Presidential Election but enough lies have been believed and enough media support has been given that one of the candidates seems to be viewed as the savior.
It was exciting enough that he would bring peace and harmony to the whole world as he spoke so eloquently in Berlin, but now it has become personal to us...serious...financial. And he is being perceived as the one man to fix our economy.
Never mind that his plan includes higher taxes and socialism, which has never worked in the history of the world. Never mind that he or any other President will have NO money to work with. Never mind that the Executive Branch of Government plays only one part in the financial well being of this country anyway. Wisdom no longer matters.
In our desperate lust to hold on to our standards of living we will be convinced to hope in "the one" who can make the change.
We will throw out reason and conviction. We will follow Barbara Streisand and Michael Moore and Oprah all of the other "brilliant" celebrities that have such passion and knowledge about world leadership.
We will invite Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez and Kim Jong Ill to sit down and chat about their hatred for all things related to America and Israel. We will listen to other celebrities who have gone even further in the radical support of the murder of the unborn.
We will believe the lie that protecting the most innocent of all is a "violation of a women's privacy." We will laugh at virtue and honor and openly ridicule faith in the One True God who alone has made and preserved this nation.
We will approve and applaud the abomination of homosexuality, granting the homosexual even the right to parade their perversity down our streets. We will teach our children that this is right and good and that anyone who does not agree is hateful and ignorant. We will no longer care about the God of our fathers. His word has no more credence to us. It is irrelevant.
We will blindly and stupidly buy what we are being sold. This country will sell its soul and vote for the man who we choose to believe will give us money. This election will prove which master we serve. Jesus said:
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)

Waxing on Fireproof

OK, so my wife has been talking about this movie for weeks now. "We should take a group from church...we need to promote it in our church...it is such a needed topic, marriage and staying together! Kirk Cameron is in it and you really like him!" And I was like yeah but there is one problem...I have not seen the movie! So today, Fireproof opened and we went and I can now say that you have GOT to see it.

I LOVED IT! Well done and desperately needed!! What a refreshing message to see in a movie!Contrary to the majority of marriages we see portrayed on TV and in movies, not ALL of them end up divorced and Fireproof is the story of success in marriage. YES!! And contrary to the cynical attitude towards the institution of marriage that is so common on TV and movies, Fireproof offers a portrayal of hope. Fireproof does not ignore the reality of struggle and temptation in marriage and it does not pretend that marriage is easy. What it does declare is that marriage is a covenant and that marriage is intended to last for life.

The truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly and completely spoken in this movie and I applaud Sherwood Baptist Church of Albany, Georgia.

Scott Bowles of USA TODAY wrote:
"Alex and Stephen Kendrick are making serious Hollywood money by doing nothing Hollywood would do.
They don't pay their actors. Volunteers build the sets. Sunday school kids cater. And when production hits a snag, they don't ask for more money. They pray.
And they're getting the kind of return on their films that would make Spielberg envious. Their first theatrical release, 2006's Facing the Giants, about a struggling football coach, cost $100,000 and raked in $10 million in theaters."

For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Waxing on War Rumors

Russia is reportedly deploying warships to the Caribbean, North Korea is reportedly restarting its nuclear efforts and just this week Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spewed his typical rhetoric of hatred and destructive desires for Israel and America...in New York City!
And as I sit in my office contemplating such news that has become so commonplace, my thoughts of war and rumors of war are accentuated by the sound of a large caliber machine gun in the distance. I live across the river from a US Army Firing Range and tonight the army is apparently practicing with what sounds like a 50 caliber.
It is all quite surreal but yet it is real indeed. This reality led me to think about the conversation that Jesus had with His disciples about His Second Coming in Matthew 24...while He walked this earth the first time He talked about coming to this earth the second time and since everything else He said is true, it is safe to say that He is coming again. His disciples thought they were going to see both His first coming and second. They wanted to know what to look for so they could know when He was coming.
As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
No doubt the contractions have been going on for quite some time now so I am thinking the real labor pains could come anytime....
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Some of these pains are already being endured by believers in other parts of the world and in this country the hatred towards Christianity is growing more and more obvious. Lawlessness. Hatred. False prophets...endurance. Press on brothers and sisters...He is coming again!

Waxing on Fast Times

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.- Colossians 2:8 ESV

Scripture says to not be conformed to this world...that the wisdom of this world is folly...that the present form of this world is passing away...and Jesus said "My Kingdom is not of this world."

Becky and I went to "C28" today. If you have not been, check it out. It is at Short Pump Mall and it has some great Christian stuff. I know we have all had our fill of cheese but this place is really different...and the best part, it is much more than a store. As the workers show you the merchandise, they are preaching...the word is everywhere and I don't mean "Smile Jesus loves you!" I mean the WORD. Workers pray with you and make no apologies that they are there to not only sell clothing with a message, they are there to proclaim the truth!

Becky and I were up at Short Pump having some lunch and celebrating our 18th Wedding Anniversary! WOW! How the time has flown! I love my wife! She is awesome! These 18 years have been incredible. That is us on our wedding night...check that mullet...was my face that much thinner or was it just the hair? Becky just keeps getting better!

My wife was beautiful then and she is even more beautiful now, but the best thing is that she loves Jesus...for real!

Strength and dignity are her clothing,and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom,and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed;her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently,but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

(Proverbs 31:25-30)

Waxing on Western Moving Ike

Looks like Hurricane Ike will be well clear of the East Coast so I anticipate no interruption of our regular schedule this Sunday. Lord willing, CCF will be meeting at our regular place of worship, Matoaca Middle School West Campus.

Thanks again to all who came out this past Sunday to our "emergency" location. We were all reminded that God is not "in the box!" Thanks again to Bruce for letting all of us invade your store. See you all this Sunday at MMS West!

For directions and schedule go to the Community Christian Fellowship website: http://www.ccfnet1.org/