The War on Christmas

  Well here we are, the most wonderful time of the year. People have put up their tree, decorations and buying gifts. Everything about this time of year is truly magical. Everyone is taking in the spirit of the season. Everything from attacking Christians, complaining about Christmas trees, parties, and the birth of Christ. Oh yes, this time of year just warms everyone's hearts. Now the people have started in on Santa. Really? Who's next, Frosty, Rudolph, gingerbread men cookies? Of course we knew it was a matter of time until the liberals and atheist's went after Christmas because of its Christian meaning. But now they are so confused they have gone after Santa. Has anyone seen the new Best Buy ads? They are just mean. I'm surprised that Santa isn't banned now at malls, parades and tv specials. Santa is already not welcome in the Ft. Worth public school system, as I learned last week on the news. 

  Now, some may ask "why is Phil not concentrating on the true meaning of Christmas?" Well just hold on and keep reading. Back even 20+ years ago Christmas was something very sacred and the atheist and liberals left it alone. I have also noticed a lot in the last couple of years that even our local stations wish us a "Happy Holiday" while showing a Christmas tree or decorations. Stores don't have sales for Christmas presents, it's holiday presents, but the stores have Christmas decorations to help the shoppers get into the magic of the season. The stores will even go so far as to play Christian based Christmas songs. However they just can't say Merry Christmas. Oh no, that would offend someone. As Christians we don't go after atheist and bum them out when they are celebrating no God, Jesus, the manger or the Cross. Nor do we stand and protest when a park doesn't include a manger scene or if there is a Parade of Lights. We don't complain about Hannakah or Kwanzaa, whatever that is. But the naysayers will sure give and receive gifts on December 25th and even take that day off paid. Hypocrites, they have no commitment to their cause. We dont complain because we carry within us the true meaning of the season. Why are they so offended anyway? It's not like we are gathering up all our Christian Christmas stuff and barging into their homes and forcing them to participate. Wouldn't that be fun though...lol. Of course I love Christmas, not only for the birth of our Savior, but all the stuff that comes with it. The old Christmas tv specials, movies, trees and lights. The songs and of course the food. Lots of Christians enjoy those things as well, but we can because we have the wonderful knowledge of Christ. Now I could find several passages in the Bible explaining why they are so against Christmas, "the hearts of man will grow cold." I say we take the holiday back! Whenever you pass someone on the street, a salesperson, a OWS protestor wish them a Merry Christmas. Tell them of the abundant love of our God for giving us a savior. They won't like it, but I'm tired of those knuckleheads infringing on my right to celebrate the birth of my Savior. 

  Merry Christmas y'all. 

Sin

So it is that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do.
–Romans 3:28 (TLB)

While reading the daily devo from Billy Graham this morning I started thinking about what is sin? His title was "All have Sinned" and we all still do. It doesn't matter if it's a big one or what we consider small, but rather all have sinned. As a born again Christian there are things that I struggle with, worry, finances, cussing, sometimes being rude to others, well a lot of times being rude to others...lol. As I go through life daily, I have to check myself constantly as to not let the unsaved be confused as to whether I'm saved or not. Am I successful, nope. Do I strive to be more like Christ, you betcha. I have lots of saved friends and each one struggles with something different. Lack of self esteem, worrying about finances, status, etc. we as Christians are not perfect, not by a long shot, but it's when we stop striving to be the light in a dark world is when our life gets murky. I'm sure some of you might think the things I listed above may or may not be sins, but if we dwell on them then it leads to decisions that may become a sinful act. Being human we all do things that are the right thing, but most of the time are not. Now for those who read this and say "not me" you might want to check that again. The thing that I love about being saved is that it's by faith and not by if you are a good person or not. If it was then we're all bound for hell in a hand basket. Sure we need to be more mindful of our actions and thoughts, but if we slip and fall, the Lord picks us up and we carry on. There are things, as I mentioned above, that we all need to work on. Of course it's difficult at times but take them one step at a time. Above all else ask the Lord to help you along. I can almost guarantee that when it's time for your ticket to be punched most of us will have unresolved sin that we will have to account for. My sister and I have this ongoing joke that when we get to Heaven we will be stuck cleaning up after horses...lol. But the key to that is, we will be in Heaven. So if you know someone in your life that isn't saved are you more of the person who will just go along with them, or are you going to let light in so they can see it? My brothers and sisters in Christ, don't beat yourself up when you do sin, but rather be Blessed by the fact that Christ is there to get you back on the right track. 

Romans 3:23
New International Version (NIV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

I'm so grateful that I am saved by Grace and not works, being I'm so lazy. 

Old Time Religion

Do y'all remember the song? "Gimme that old time religion. (repeat 2 more times), cause it's good enough for me." What a simple song. I am a huge fan of the old hymns and gospel standards. I will get into why I love the old hymns in a future post. When I was a kid I went to two different denominational church's. Would depend on if we were with my dad or mom, they divorced when I was young. If it was dad, then it was a baptist church. Mom, it was Pentecostal, where my great grandmother, Mamma Bill, would attend. We never knew her real first name. Both church's would do the two types of music that I love, but of course way different. I didn't mind attending the different church's because I was young and didn't really pay attention to the theologies of the two. It was a time when, if you were a kid, you had to go. There are things I do remember that I started looking forward to. Like at the Baptist church, I remember the sign on the wall that would give attendance numbers, how much was collected in offerings, and what pages the hymns we would be singing. I remember being excited about that, not sure why. You would walk in and everyone would be milling around, mostly drinking coffee or eating a breakfast pastry that some older Christian woman would have made or bought to bring in. We didn't have coffee bars, bookstores, or full service cafe's. Then like on cue, we would all shuffle into the sanctuary, sit in our pews and wait patiently for the pastor tell us kids to head into Sunday school. Does anyone remember how fun that was. Most of the time we were required to memorize scripture. Who does that to kids, geez. Talk about pressure. Trying to remember your math or English was hard enough, but trying to remember the word of God good grief. Then we got to go back in with the grown folks. There sang a couple of hymns. We sang songs like "Holy, Holy,holy", "All hail the power of Jesus", "There is power in the blood" My personal favorite was "Just a closer walk with thee". Everyone had their part, men would sing their part, and the women theirs. If I saw that on the board, I was excited. Again all organized. Then would come the message of the morning. Scripture, not a lot of filler at all like we see sometimes today. Then there would be an altar call, another song, then we would be dismissed. Some would stick around and talk, but mostly we would hurry out, because my dad is a huge Cowboys fan. Occasionally there would be a dinner on the grounds. Those were fun. Kids playing outside, either ball or just acting goofy. So when attending the baptist church everything was so organized. I never realized that as a kid, but being grown I think I would have been bored a bit with that. Now onto the Pentecostal church. The first time I went, I was terrified. What was wrong with these people? The music was already playing. People would be milling around like the Baptist, but it was loud. People talking about all the blessings they experienced during the week. Men were dressed in suits, women dresses, no makeup or jewelry. It was really upbeat actually. There were also people in the sanctuary already singing and praising and some having hands laid on them. The worship part was exciting. Lots of instruments and my personal favorite, the tambourine. Oh my I loved that thing. The singing portion was the best. It seemed to go on forever. Songs like "The Upper Room", "Soon and very Soon", "How i got over" There would be clapping, jumping around, shouting and hands raised. It was exhillerating. As the song was ending, if there were some still feeling the Holy Spirit, the music would continue. Now for the scary part, as a kid I had no idea what people were doing, speaking what seemed like a foreign language. It was only when I was older it was called tongues. Then came the message. The preacher was really lively and there would be shouting and loud amens while he was teaching. What? That didn't happen with the baptist. I liked it. And don't get me started on the baptisms, very jubilant. Both were small church's. The messages very simple, if you don't accept Christ, then you go to hell. It seems now days, church's try to be flashy. The bigger the better. And most that I've seen has watered down the Gospel. Why is that? To make it more comfortable? Were the old time ways not good enough? Back then it was King James Bible with all the, thees and thows. We knew what the red lettering was in the New Testament. We didn't talk in church or else! We didn't use secular music as worship, hoping to pick out some sort of Christian meaning. What happened? What changed? Just questions, I actually know. The secular society has said so many times that "well God has evolved so maybe it's true". Remember "if it's repeated enough...".

So when your at church today, listen to what is being taught. Is it scripture littered with filler and you just didn't catch it? Or is it Old Time Religion? There is a song that I love from the late, great Mahalia Jackson, "I'm gonna live the life I sing about in my songs". Have a great Sunday y'all!

If It's Reapeted Enough, Then it Must be True?

There are many things in our society that get passed to us so many times that we tend to believe it. Everything from tv commercials, to news stories amongst other things. It's no wonder that so many people are so confused about a great many things. The one that really sticks in my craw, is the liberal groups and atheist screaming like teething babies, separation of church and state! Most Christians and people with common sense know that isn't actually in the Constitution. BUT they have used it so much when their feathers get ruffled over Christian overtones are used in connection with a city, state, or federal function. A perfect example is two summers ago, due to budget cuts the city was cutting Recreation centers. A church here in town stood up and said we will sponsor one. Now these are important because it gives kids and people that don't have a lot of money a place to go for fun. Well that didn't sit well with the liberals and they cried "separation of church and state". And today, because Obama and his socialist viewpoints, we have groups of people that really believe in their protest of Wall St, even though they have NO idea why they are doing it. This statement was taken directly from their website:

"Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants."

Uh? Sounds a bit like the leadership in DC. Maybe if I repeat that enough. The people doing these protest seem to be against capitalism, but man they sure do have more mobile devices than an Apple store. So because Obama has convinced and said it so much, many people believe that if someone has more than me, then I'm entitled to theirs also. Sounds like Obama has a degree in BS. Now this is not new. Remember Salem, 1692. People were convinced by a small group of leaders that several in their community were witches just by stating the fact so many times people actually believed it. Now I'm not a expert in that, just my opinion. We are constantly bombarded by liberal activists, that it really is hard for people to know what is accurate. Al Gore has people believing in global warming, gay activists say over and over "why can't we marry, we are just like everybody else. They screamed it for so long now they have it, for the most part. For a year now the liberals have said so many times that Tea Party are racist. So liberal politicians now compare them to terrorist and it's ok now. But the liberals cry foul when conservatives compare them to socialist. When I say cry foul by that I mean they yell, scream, and throw fits. I guess the reason I chose this topic because recently I have noticed and things that have been pointed out to me that even Christians are now being fooled to some extent, by repetition. Our culture has become corrupted by falsehoods mixed with a small amount of what might seem like truth. Example, Pat Robertson is convinced that Romney is a good Christian. Christians flock to Glen Beck conferences, sucked in by his quoting of scripture. Well he must be a good Christian. Ann Coulter, extreme conservative, who I really like, but recently found out that she supports same sex marriage. I'm not sure if she is Christian, but that goes against what I believe. So I had to change my tune with her. There are others, Joel Osteen, a fluffy preacher, Dr. Phil, not really a dr, people love Oprah because she says she is a person of faith, what faith I ask? With all of this I am reminded of this famous movie quote:

Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
Dr Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly.
Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!
Mayor: All right, all right! I get the point!

Im not immune to this I have fell for repetitive speeches in my lifetime. I actually thought eating at McDonalds was ok, until Michelle Obama convinced me of the error of my ways...LOL

So the next time you hear "pass this bill" think first.

Saved by Grace!

This story was done in 2004. This isn't my story, it's the story of Christ's love for a small person that is me.

AMAZING STORY
Ex-Gay Finds Fatherly Love of God
By Amy Reid and Julie Blim
The 700 Club

CBN.com – Is homosexuality a genetic predisposition or some reaction to a bad home life that can be easily excused? Phillip Tucker originally thought so and eventually opted for the gay lifestyle. But even in his committed homosexual civil union, Phillip didn't find the love he had been searching for.

700 Club Reporter Julie Blim talks to Phillip to find out how, through the friendship of a caring, Christian woman, he finally found the love he had always needed: the unconditional love of God the Father.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Phillip Tucker’s sexual confusion began at a young age. His parents divorced when he was 5. An absent father and busy single mother left him feeling lonely and confused.

What was it like growing up without your dad around?

PHILLIP TUCKER: Being raised in a home with my mom and my sister, I wasn’t taught man things, I wasn’t taught sports. There was no male figure, none.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Phillip struggled with a growing attraction to other young men. He got involved in sports and attended church in an effort to sort out his troubling emotions.

There were times that you questioned what you were doing, who you were. How’d you handle that?

PHILLIP TUCKER: I felt like something was wrong with me, and I got very, very angry. I was angry all the time.

JULIE BLIM: At whom?

PHILLIP TUCKER: God. I was angry at God. I was angry at the church.

JULIE BLIM: Why?

PHILLIP TUCKER: I prayed all of the time, and it didn’t seem to work.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Phillip finally had had enough.

PHILLIP TUCKER: Toward the late high school years, that’s when the leaks came out, so to speak. Scientists were working on this gay gene. They thought it might be linked to hereditary, and that gave me a way out. It was a lot easier to swallow.

JULIE BLIM: So you latched onto that?

PHILLIP TUCKER: Yes, I did. I tried to convince everybody.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Phillip’s anger at God intensified when he was asked to leave the church after declaring himself a homosexual. He moved away to the big city and eventually entered into a civil union with another man. In that relationship, Phillip found what he hoped would be the lasting love and acceptance he was searching for.

PHILLIP TUCKER: It seemed like what marriages were supposed to be, what homes were supposed to be because there was no fighting, there was compromise.

JULIE BLIM: And as time went on, did you continue to feel that way?

PHILLIP TUCKER: No.

JULIE BLIM: No? Why not?

PHILLIP TUCKER: Because I knew in the back of my mind that God was real. I’d never lost that. Believe me: I did a lot of things to make that go away.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Phillip experimented more and more with drugs and alcohol. He dabbled in the voodoo culture. Suddenly, his world shattered when his partner became a Christian—and left him.

PHILLIP TUCKER: I was so angry at God. I kept saying, 'How could you do this to me? What right do you have to pick one over another? What makes him more special than me? It was rough.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): And it got rougher. Within a week, Phillip’s grandfather died and a close friend was seriously injured in a car accident.

PHILLIP TUCKER: I think the turning point was I was sitting in my kitchen, and the water heater blew and flooded the kitchen. I just sat in the floor and I cried, and I took as many pills as I could.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Phillip’s attempt at suicide was thwarted when a friend called and had him rushed to the emergency room. His life had been spared, but the search for meaning continued.

PHILLIP TUCKER: I decided, 'I’m just going to start over. I’m going to run from this and go to Tucson.'

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Phillip moved in with his sister, and she introduced him to her neighbor, Michelle. Michelle’s family—and her friendship—changed his life.

PHILLIP TUCKER: I saw a unit there, a family unit that was close. She talked several times, and she was like, 'I can’t judge you. I just need to know if you know the Lord. That’s all I need to know.' I was taken aback at first. I was surprised because she didn’t try to preach at me.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Phillip developed a close friendship with Michelle and her family. One afternoon, while watching TV with them, Phillip saw part of a Billy Graham crusade.

What struck you in Billy Graham’s message?

PHILLIP TUCKER: He was saying, 'God loves you'—and I could see that he meant it. I could see the sincerity in his face, hear it in his voice. He said John 3:16, basically. Then he gave the altar call and thousands of people came forward. I just sat there and I cried.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): That night Phillip again struggled with the temptation to end his life.

PHILLIP TUCKER: I felt this pull, this tug inside me that was like evil and light. I said, 'Lord, please fix this. I believe now. I believe in Your resurrection. I believe in Your crucifixion.' Everything was just different.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Phillip decided to give his life and all his sin over to Christ. His life changed dramatically in that moment.

PHILLIP TUCKER: It was immediate. Michelle and Tony and the kids noticed it, too.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Phillip left the homosexual lifestyle and hasn’t looked back.

PHILLIP TUCKER: People who are in that lifestyle of homosexuality cannot go around that. It specifically says in the Bible, 'Flee from sexual sin.' The Lord doesn’t tell us to run that often. But with that He does.

JULIE BLIM (reporting): Soon after he became a Christian, Phillip found a job with Focus on the Family. He now works with other people who need counseling.

What message do you want to send out to men or women involved in homosexuality who want to get out?

PHILLIP TUCKER: It’s a lie. It’s probably one of the greatest lies that Satan has done in our century. God will fulfill you. Christ will give you everything that you need inside. He’ll fill everything. There’s no loneliness. There’s no bitterness. You can have that father that you never had. Sure we don't live perfect lives, but the redemption that Christ offers gives us the hope we need to finish the race winners.

Since this was done in 2004, I was blessed to be able to to serve with Love Won Out in 2006, an ex-gay ministry that was with Focus on the Family. During that time I was able to witness others that were saved by Grace from a life of unwanted same-sex attractions. When I was saved I was the only one I knew in my situation. With LWO, a whole new world was opened up to me. Seeing, meeting, and hearing the stories of hundreds that experienced the same salvation through Grace humbled me. Even though LWO is no longer a part of Focus on the Family, it still exists. Exodus International, which is led by Alan Chambers, has kept it alive. Even though I am no longer with the ministry, I still pray daily not only for all the lost, but specifically those struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions.

This summer at the movies

I hadn't been to the movies in a long time, a couple years at least. This summer was different. Not only was it a exciting time with all the choices that came out, but I actually went and saw a few. For those that don't know me well, I am cheap. I mean really cheap! Being a sucker for great special effects and good story telling, the options were plenty. It was refreshing to see original stuff. There is nothing worse than remakes. I mean really. What drew me in though was all the Super Hero movies that we were treated to. The industry’s stubborn attempt at indoctrinating the public with the importance of 3D was stronger than ever, and it does seem like the public is responding. I, myself, am still leery towards 98% of 3D experiences. I will admit that 3D seems to have brought Michael Bay closer to being the revolutionary visualist he has the potential of becoming, but a billion extra dimensions will never fix an inability to read tone or cut fat. So let me give you a rundown of the few that I did see and what I thought. Now mind you I do not really visit the cinema on opening weekend. That special time is reserved for Star Wars or a new Bond film.

"Cowboys and Aliens" When I first heard of this movie, I was watching Comic Con 2010. Yes I'm a sic-fi geek. I was really stoked about this. Then I saw a teaser around Christmas 2010. I was then hooked. The story was awesome. Just imagine a time in the old west where the only lights are gas, and not much at all is mechanical. Imagine the shock of aliens and their ships just popping up out of nowhere. The downer was watching Harrison Ford try to act. I think he has lost his touch. Besides that, it was a good movie.

"Captain America" What can I say. When I was a kid, I was a Captain America fan. And the movie didn't disappoint at all. It gave a great background to understanding Steve Rogers. The movie was so well done. This I think was my favorite of the summer. It was the perfect summer + popcorn flick.

"Thor" This one surprised me. I wasn't really a Thor fan when I was a kid. But because it was Marvel I couldn't resist. Kenneth Branagh really did a good job of bringing Asguard to life. The story was really well done. A good combination of story telling and action. I would have preferred someone else rather than no talent Natalie Portman to watch, but hey it is what it is.

Ok this last one I was really, really surprised about. After trying to convince myself it was going to be some sort of rip off or lame. Anyone remember Tim Burtons remake with Mark Whalberg...ugh. Yes I'm talking about

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" This was a really good movie. James Franco proved to be a good dramatic actor and action. He is a scientist whose father, played by John Lithgow, lives with him. He is in late stages of Alzheimer's. The lab that Franco works at is on the verge of coming up with a cure. The chimp they are using for testing seems to go nuts, so the powers that be decide to terminate the project and the apes. Turns put the ape, named Bright eyes, was not having a reaction to the test meds, but she was protecting her baby. Yes bright eyes was the name given to Charleton Hestons character by the apes in the 1968 film. There are other subtle Shoutouts to the original also, like some of the apes shared the same names as the apes in the '68 film. Now with the project shutdown, Franco take the baby home names him Caesar, wonderfully played by Andy Serkis, from LOTR series and King Kong. Franco keeps giving Caesar the experimental drugs and he becomes this really smart and functional ape. Things go wrong, terribly wrong. Franco's dad got out of the house, got into trouble and Caesar tries to protect him, and gets taken away and put in a animal sanctuary type place. Well he doesn't like it, still being smart start the journey of getting the other apes to rise. I will end it there.

I really hope that directors continue to keep us entertained in the future. But by the look of some of the Fall selections, I will just cherish the summer I shared with some great movies!

Amazon Fire To Take on iPad-Yea like we haven't heard that before!

I first want to say that I'm not writing this because I'm an Apple junkie, ok well I am :). When Amazon announced yesterday that they are entering the Tablet world, there were a lot of speculations going around that this would give iPad a run for it's money. Well in my world, and by that I mean my mind, there will always be people who are Android people and there are iOS people. Since Apple introduced the iPad it amazed the techie world. It was like when man first discovered fire. Then the tablet war began. There have been many, and some have done well. But because of the prices and smaller sizes, they just were considered average. The one that came the closest is the Motorola Zoom, the screen sizes were about the same.  With the Fire, it looks sharp. It's a e-reader on steroids. But from all that I've read, and I've read a lot, it seems all Amazon has done is make a tablet to rival the Nook color. Yeah, it's smaller, but that means it's better for sticking in a pocket, reading one-handed, watching movies in truer widescreen. So people who are shopping for an iPad because it's a great way to watch movies and read books (thanks in part to the iPad's excellent Kindle app), these people might want to save $300 and buy a Kindle Fire instead. But the advent of a hot-selling cheaper Amazon tablet isn't likely to slow the growth of the iPad, which continues to have its own charm, not least of all being a key part of the Apple ecosystem. What it does do is convince people to ignore all of those other tablets that have sprung up since the iPad's launch. The Fire seems to be great because by some people testing it out, it will rival other Android tablets because it is priced lower than all those that came before it, you know the others that were also gonna give iPad a run for it's money. Also Don't let the screen-size numbers fool you, a 7-inch tablet has half the screen real estate of Apple's 10-incher. There's little onboard memory, there are fewer, if any, creative or business apps, there's no camera or microphone. So automatically anyone who chooses the iPad for its ability to create art or music, or manage spreadsheets, or edit photos, they just won't be looking at the Fire. Maybe with Steve Jobs stepping down, we might even get Flash video capability! As I started this out by saying, there will always be Android people and iOS people.