'[ONE OF] THE WORSE WHIPPINGS I EVER HAD'

One of the worst whippings I ever got happened on Thanksgiving! Yes, that's right. The day that we are supposed to express our thankfulness to God for all that He is and all that He has done. Traditionally, it is a day of turkey and dressing... but not that Thanksgiving. Tenderloin, biscuits and gravy. If you are expecting the rest of the menu, that's it. Tenderloin, biscuits and gravy.

We were coming home from somewhere that I don't remember but I do remember repeatedly asking if we could go out for thanksgiving dinner. Mom said she didn't feel well and Dad kept saying no. No matter how hard I tried to convince them that it wasn't Thanksgiving with turkey and dressing, Dad said no. So at that moment, I had a choice to make. Either stop rebelling against them which would settle things down OR keep mouthing until I got the (one of) the worst whipping(s) I had ever had. Obviously I didn't shut up and it really caused me pain.

I REALLY remember that whipping... with the belt as usual. But more stripes on my backside than usual. I even tried to pull away and convince Dad that he had given me enough but he didn't feel the same way. [I want to emphasize my Dad was very loving. He was a great deal of fun when Brian and I were behaving but when we didn't behave, we were guaranteed to get a serious whipping with the belt. Part of being loving is using discipline when needed. If he didn't love me, he would have let me do whatever I wanted and then deal with how I turned out on my own.]

Here's where you come into the story. I am sure that my dad didn't personally whip you but maybe our Heavenly Father has whipped you and me both. If you are rebelling against God's authority, you can be sure a whipping of some sort is on the way. And you don't get to pick what it is and how long it will last. I am still getting whipped for some things I did decades ago.

So make the right choice. Obey God. Accept the fact that He has all of the authority and He has the final say. As a pastor, one of the biggest thrills in my life is preventing people from getting a whipping. OBEDIENCE EQUALS BLESSINGS. Amen?

VIDEO- 'DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE'

VIDEO- 'WHEN YOU GET TOO BIG FOR YOUR BRITCHES'

VIDEO- 'DO YOU REALIZE HOW SERIOUS SIN IS?'

WHAT LAST NIGHT'S ELECTION CONFIRMED TO ME

I know that you have read and heard many comments dealing with last night’s election but I just want to share some observations with you that I have been talking about for months. Observations that were definitely proven true last night.

Christians need to get serious about their faith. Because of several factors, we have become a minority in what used to be a Christian nation.

The electorate is becoming more secular. Recent studies have indicated that the single greatest predictor of voting patterns is the frequency of church attendance. Far fewer Americans now attend church, and a recent study indicated that fully 20% of all Americans identify with no religious preference at all. The secularizing of the electorate will have monumental consequences. - Al Mohler

Mr. Mohler says that ‘fewer Americans now attend church’. I will take that one step farther and say fewer “Christians” are going to church. Too many church membership rolls are filled with inactive members. We have too many people claiming to be Christians but living lifestyles that scream otherwise and because of that, we are not being the light and the salt that we are supposed to be living (Matthew 5:13-16).

Our nation is falling because the ‘morality’ of this country is failing. The morality of this country is failing because the churches are focused on themselves instead of those outside their four walls.

·         Because of so many inactive church members, the pastors and other church members are spending too much time trying to chase them down and get them back in church when they could be using that time to reach out to a lost and dying world.

·         Too many pastors are told that they are to cater to the church members while doors are being opened by God every day for all of us to share the gospel to those who are not converted yet.

·         Too much of a church’s budget is focused on the people inside the four walls without taking into consideration the people outside the four walls.

·         Too many Christians are shutting up because someone has told that they are being judgmental and even misquoting Matthew 7:1 in the process. Matthew 7:1 deals with condemning and criticizing people, not recognizing and confronting sinful issues in order to bring people to Christ.

So what should we do? Very simple and yet extremely crucial.

·         PRAY- Repent and ask God for forgiveness for each and every sin in your life. Then pray for your family and your church family to do the same. Pray that your church will see the harvest around you and realize that Jesus was right when He said the laborers were few. Pray that those who are living in sin will be convicted and repent of their sinful ways. Pray that those who are living without Jesus would be saved by God’s grace.

·         LIVE IT- Don’t just say that you are a Christian, BE a Christian. A Christian is supposed to be Christ-like but we are seeing too many of our church families live lives that resembled the sinfulness of the world more than the holiness of Jesus.

·         GET MOVING- Get more involved in your church’s worship with your church family. Get more involved in reaching out to people outside your four walls. Find out what areas are open for volunteers to come in and minister God’s love.

·         SPEAK UP- Don’t back down because someone says you are being too judgmental or too exclusive. Speak the truth with love, yes, but SPEAK THE TRUTH. If they don’t like it, they can argue with God about it.  

Will you help me pray for our pastors and our churches to be stronger in our influence of others in our nation? It starts with me and you.