Andy Duchemin said...Ray, I've been listening to the Living Waters podcasts and it's given me an insight as to how sly and underhanded your preaching can be. I think it was Kirk who was going through the good person test and if someone answered in the wrong way than he wanted to hear, there's a back-up plan to prove that the person is wrong. It's not a test, it's a trap, a condemnation...The self-assuredness that your friends show appears to be dishonest.

Andy...You hit the nail on the head. It is "a condemnation." However, it's not dishonest. Think of it like this. You are a devious criminal who refuses to give up his evil lifestyle, because you don't see it as being "evil." You consider lawlessness to be an exciting lifestyle. Besides, you've never been caught by the police. Not once.

I'm a police officer who has the difficult task of telling you about an special short-term amnesty, offered by the Chief of Police. You have a certain amount of time to surrender your weapons and change your lifestyle. After the door of amnesty closes there will be a big bust, and when that comes there will be no mercy, especially in the light of your ignoring the offer of amnesty.I have no alternative but to show you that you are already condemned with no way of escape, and that you would be a fool to neglect the offer of amnesty. FULL POST

Jack Kevorkian

Michigan right-to-die activist, Jack Kevorkian, died today at the age of 83. He was a leading advocate for euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. During his lifetime he helped 130 patients to kill themselves.

Dr. Kevorkian's worldview begins with the assumption that man is measure of all things (Humanism). It places human reason on the throne as king when it comes to questions of bio-ethics. His worldview viewed all of life as merely biological, just like an animal with no soul. His worldview would promote the opinion: "I have the right to do with my own body whatever I choose."

This stands in stark contrast to the teaching of the Bible which states, "You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:20)." The Christian worldview begins with the view that God is the Creator and sustainer of all life and that every human life is sacred, because we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

Once you devalue human life on any level, you open the floodgates for the taking of human life on every level. FULL POST

My New Zealand surfing buddy, who was caught in the Christchurch earthquake and frightened by it, wrote to me again. I was encouraged to hear from him, even though he said, "I have been super busy...still cleaning up after God’s last little piece of handiwork. I am tingling all over with the great news that the world did not end on Saturday. Did you buy into that one? Or is there some other date I should get my affairs in order for?" He was obviously mocking, so I told him that I didn’t buy into it, and that the world did end for 150,000 people on that day. That’s how many people die every 24 hours. I then pleaded once again for him to get right with God.While those in the media see date-setting religious nuts as being good for ratings, it does give the enemies of God an occasion to blaspheme. Despite this, there is good news: we still have time to reach out to the lost.

The United States military is set to open its ranks to out and professed homosexuals.  Training sessions are being conducted across the military to try to smooth the way. But this diversity training won’t make a dent in the problems stemming from this change, which was made without full consideration of the burdens that will be placed upon our armed forces. 

During last year’s Lame Duck session, Congress voted to repeal the 1993 law prohibiting homosexuals from serving in the military.  “Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell” was never the law. It was only a policy, a compromise that communicated to homosexuals:  ‘Don’t say you’re gay.  Don’t, by your behavior, reveal it, and you’ll be fine’  But, with the repeal, there will be no need to be discreet. Open homosexuality will be fine.

The language of the repeal requires that, before final implementation, the President, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that recruiting, retention, and readiness will not be harmed by the transformation. Elaine Donnelly, President of the Center for Military Readiness, believes that President Obama aims to sign that certification paper this month.  June is “LGBT Equality Month, a good time to fulfill a campaign promise.  Then, according to the law passed by Congress, sixty days after certification, full implementation of the repeal is supposed to take place.    FULL POST

There are two main hard and fast rules for anyone who would like to become an "atheist." If you are tempted, beware. It's not an easy thing to do.

The first rule is to ignore design in nature. You will see it everywhere; from the planets, to the atoms, to the birds and the bees, to the seasons, to the design of the human body, the design of fish, flowers, fruits, feet, and even fungus. And of course, the amazing-looking human eye. Everywhere you look and everywhere you can't look, you will see design.

Now here's the hard part. Ignore your God-given common sense. Admit that everything man made is man-made, but be uncompromisingly adamant that everything in nature came from nothing, with no Designer. Once you have set aside your acumen to do this, crown yourself as being intelligent. Very. Then find other atheists and they will confirm to you that you are indeed, intelligent.

The second rule is to "believe." This is very important, because if you let doubt in, it will let in fear, and that can be a scary thing when the issue at stake is a place called "Hell."

Believe that you are right in your beliefs. Believe that evolution is indeed true. Believe that it's scientific. Believe that there are no missing links, and believe that Richard Dawkins knows what he is talking about. FULL POST

Bob Dylan

Today is Bob Dylan's 70th birthday. The outspoken "prophet" of the turbulent 1960's has never ceased to be an enigma to many of his friends, and adversaries.

During the "Jesus Movement" Dylan found his way into a California Vineyard church and began studying the Bible. Dylan attended a course held at the Vineyard School of Discipleship, which ran four days a week over the course of three months.

"At first I said, 'There's no way I can devote three months to this,'" Dylan would say in a 1980 interview. "'I've got to be back on the road soon.' But I was sleeping one day and I just sat up in bed at seven in the morning and I was compelled to get dressed and drive over to the Bible school."

I remember growing up listening to Dylan's gospel albums (yes, those black vinyl discs that look like frisbees), bank in the late 1970's and early 1980's. It's amazing how bold and direct his message was. Especially now as we are swimming in Postmodern uncertainty, it is refreshing to hear a voice of clarity promoting moral absolutes. Dylan proclaimed: FULL POST

Kevin Jennings

Kevin Jennings, a homosexual who was appointed by President Obama as his “Safe Schools” Czar is leaving his office at the U.S. Department of Education in July to become the new President of Be The Change, a non-profit organization.

Prior to his time in the Administration, Mr. Jennings founded and led the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, the leading national education organization focused on promoting the homosexual lifestyle in schools.

Under Jennings’ leadership, GLSEN programs became commonplace in America’s schools. During his 14 year tenure as GLSEN’s founding Executive Director, GLSEN increased pro-homosexual school legislation by more than 600 percent, and grew the number of school-based and student-led clubs, such as Gay-Straight Alliances, from under 50 in 1995 to nearly 4,000 registered schools (with over 8,000 middle schools and high schools participating in the pro-homosexual “Day of Silence”) when he stepped down in 2008. FULL POST

Is Jesus for losers? That is what many people seem to believe. Well, I guess I'm inclined to agree...at least in this sense: Being a Christian, I've lost a lot. That makes me a loser, right?

I've lost right to be my own selfish pig. I've lost the devil as my master and hell as my future. I've lost the need to live for the approval of humans. I've lost the desire to be a slave to sin and self. I've lost my fear of the future. I've lost the need to defend myself. I've lost my love for the world and the things that are in the world. I've lost the condemnation I was under as an enemy of God. I've lost having to be confused about life and never knowing anything for certain. I've lost being alone. I've lost being hopeless and helpless. I've lost the tyranny of being my own worst enemy. In fact, as a follower of Jesus, I've lost absolutely everything...but I also found absolutely everything. Jesus is all I want and He is all I need.

From my daily reading this morning: Psalms 16:11 "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." I'm a loser, and I'm thankful that Jesus is for losers. FULL POST

Everyone has heroes, or at least people they greatly admire. David Wilkerson was one of mine, along with John the Baptist and a few others. So I was deeply saddened when my daughter called to tell me he had been killed in a car accident. Of course, there was the sweet knowledge that he was with the Lord, but there was also the bitter reality that we no longer had him here on earth.

His passing brought back a flood of memories. Back in 1980, I screened the movie The Cross and the Switchblade at our church. It was based on his best-selling book, and starred Eric Estrada (from the television series “CHiPs”) as Nicky Cruz, the hardened gang member who mocked the naive country preacher who had come to his rough neighborhood.

I loved the way Wilkerson trusted God and went to New York, gave his shoes to some hoodlum, and ended up walking around the city in his socks. He epitomized the love that each of us should have for the lost. I decided there and then that I had to fly David Wilkerson seven thousand miles to New Zealand for a series of meetings.

New Zealand is about 16 hours ahead of New York, so I climbed out of bed at 2:00 a.m. on a Tuesday morning to put in a long-distance call to the United States. After about forty minutes of complications, I finally got through to the church and was disappointed to hear a busy signal. FULL POST

Osama Bin Ladin

In the recent news of the reported death of terrorist Osama Bin Laden, I was able to catch up with a couple of well-known Bible scholars to get their perspectives on this situation. First, King Solomon had this to say:

King Solomon

"Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man's house, do not raid his dwelling place; for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity. Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him. Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out. Fear the LORD and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious, for those two will send sudden destruction upon them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?" (Proverbs 24:14-22) FULL POST