Making a Difference - Whether Hot or Cold  By: Melody Crombie
Our family drinks tea, a lot of tea. During the summer months I make big pitchers of the stuff for everyone. Our tea obsession started a long time ago with my husband. He is one of those rare individuals that doesn't drink coffee (gasp) so every morning he gets a travel-size mug of tea that he sips on his commute into work. Several years ago after our microwave broke, I bought an electric water kettle that heats the water in, you guessed it, a kettle. Our first two were ceramic and always seemed to meet with an untimely demise. Our current one is a robust stainless steel. This morning as I was pouring the water from the kettle into a pitcher for sweet tea, I noticed that the water was not its usual bubbly, steamy self. I have had this happen before and know exactly what to do. One of my overly-cautious kids has gone around during the night and unplugged all of the small appliances so I plug it back in and quickly have active, rolling boiling water in no time. This reminds me of the bible verse in Revelation 3:16, “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” The church in Revelation was no longer making a difference in the people (and ultimately the community) around them. By trusting in their riches, they were essentially telling God they could 'take him or leave him' and it would have no real effect. They had disengaged (unplugged) from the power source of life and allowed the riches of the world to convince them they had all they needed. Getting water hot or cold usually takes effort. We need fire under it to heat it or ice to make it cold. If water is left alone it often becomes grossly lukewarm. During my lifetime I have witnessed the church getting people around them fired up about important issues. Simultaneously, the church has offered the hurting, thirsty and needy a cup of cold water in Jesus' name. The important thing to remember is that Jesus is our source of power, making us hot or cold. Our good deeds testify to the world the kind of relationship we have with Him. The Destruction of America. . .An Inside Job?  By: Melody Crombie
Ever wonder where the communists, Nazi's and terrorists went after the defeat and collapse of their own countries? Did they 'wash up' on America's shores? Can we point to the secular, ungodly ways that are being taught in many of our schools and college campuses as evidence of their influence? God and any mention of the Bible has been systematically removed from our school curriculum, our government and our way of living. We can see the devastating consequences of this secular humanist, anti-Christian movement in the lives of our school children, homes, government and businesses; even if we can't pinpoint exactly when or how it started. The moral decline of this nation is staggeringly huge and shocking! On my recent trip across the United States, I talked with a woman near the Ten Commandments monument at the State Capitol Building in Oklahoma. She was crying and upset that it was going to be removed. We prayed and I tried to encourage her that we could do more than just pray. She didn't really know what to do and said that she didn't want to stand in the way of 'God's plan,' since the Bible talked about things getting really bad before Jesus returned to earth. Fellow Christians, let's follow this type of logic using a different scenario: “I won't brush my teeth because I am going to see the dentist someday and he will clean my teeth and make everything right.” Are you sitting back praying and hoping Jesus comes soon to make everything right? That is great, as long as you are doing everything he COMMANDED you to do! If you are not doing everything possible to change your current situation and the people God has placed in your path, then understand this, the 'Day of the Lord,' will be a day of wrath, “A day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,” Zephaniah 1:15. We are talking WAY WORSE than seeing the dentist if you haven't been brushing! Most Christians understand the verse, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. We need to be prepared to do all the good we can for as long as we are able, with Godly love! I met a different woman after a church service in California who told me when Christians said, “Jesus is coming soon,” it amounted to 'fear mongering!' That is partly true, the return of Jesus will be mourned by evil, unrepentant sinners. . .The faithful, obedient Christian will rejoice when Jesus returns! What can we do about the current darkness in our culture? I am reminded about the story of Rizpah, one of Saul's concubines who stayed with her two sons murdered bodies for several months. Because of her great love for her sons, “She did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night,” 2 Samuel 21:10. Rizpah knew she couldn't bring them back from the dead but she was not about to let their memory fade quietly into the night either! Are we sitting back and allowing America, the famed “City on a Hill” to sink into an abyss of darkness and evil? 2021 Update on Pastor Saeed Abedini's former wife: Pastor Saeed Abedini is 'Crying Out to God' for America's Revival  By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter May 4, 2015|12:56 pm
Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen who has spent over two and-a-half years in an Iranian prison for his Christian faith, is marking on Thursday his 35th birthday by urging believers to pray for America's revival. The pastor noted in a letter that his birthday this year falls on the National Day of Prayer in the United States. "As an American and as a prisoner for Christ, I have spent many hours praying and crying out to God for revival for this great nation. We all hope for the success of our nation and for America to be blessed, but without revival there can be no true success or blessing. As Ezra's cried out to God in repentance and the Israelites joined him in weeping bitterly and turning from their sin, I would like to ask you to join me in repenting and praying for revival," Abedini' letter begins. The American Center for Law and Justice, which represents Abedini's wife, Naghmeh, and the couple's two children in Boise, Idaho, said that the letter was obtained from a family member in Iran who visited the pastor in prison last week. The ACLJ has been campaigning for the release of Abedini and three other American citizens imprisoned in Iran, but has criticized President Barack Obama's administration for abandoning the Americans in the nuclear deal agreement with Iran. After White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest revealed last week that Obama would veto any bill that would require Iran to release the prisoners before the nuclear deal is finalized, the ACLJ spoke out and called the admittance "despicable" and "outrageous." "That is simply unbelievable. Refusing to discuss the Americans being held hostage by Iran at the bargaining table and rejecting any congressional attempt to make any deal with Iran contingent on the release of the Americans is unacceptable. It's quite frankly appalling," the law group wrote on Thursday. Obama has previously promised to do all that he can to see Abedini released. In the letters Abedini has been able to get out during his time in prison, he has thanked the many around the world who have prayed for him and signed campaigns for his release. In his 35th birthday letter, he said that although in times of need it is tempting for people to blame the government and authorities for their fate, it is the people themselves that need to show the change they want to see in society. "Change starts with us. Revival starts with us. The first step to revival is praying together in unity as a nation. the National Day of Prayer is a great opportunity for us to come out and use the freedom that we have been given. So many Christians around the world are imprisoned and martyred for their faith in Jesus," Abedini wrote. "You have the freedom to gather across the United States at your state capitol to pray. Please use this opportunity. Please use your freedom for the kingdom of God."    The God of Small Beginnings
Have you ever noticed in a sports contest that when a team is ahead with time running out, the strategy often changes from playing to win to playing to avoid losing. So many of us live life this way. We live to avoid taking a risk, avoid a significant challenge, avoid discomfort, rather than living to win. How boring is that? Living not to lose is not a very biblical concept. We are to
But you say, the problems of the world, home and abroad, are too great. What can one person do? Zechariah Chapter 4 we get some encouragement. The author argues, “Do not despise small beginnings.” He notes that there will be rejoicing when the Lord’s servant Zerubbabel starts the rebuilding of the temple by working with a plumb line. It is a small start, but it is a start. This is the same chapter where it is declared that a great result comes, “Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.” In other words, the encouragement from the Lord is to play. We are to play to win. Play for a kingdom win, even if it we think the start is a small beginning. Pray the Lord of the harvest to give you a God sized dream. It will start small, as all initiatives do. Without faith (that we and the Holy Spirit are a majority) it is impossible to please God. If we are found playing not to lose, the clear hint from scripture is that this is displeasing to God. Get started today. Speak to your pastor or outreach leader about how you can be used to make a kingdom impact. Enter a profile to inquire how your significant life skills can be used to disciple nations. Live, not to lose, but to win. Nelson Malwitz, November, 2010  I can understand this guy's desperation and the stand that he felt he needed to take. I'm glad It was non-threatening! I am so relieved he wasn't killed in the process! If you have a grievance with the government or know of a way to make our country great again, please send me a YouTube video. It should be no longer than three minutes and with zero profanity. Please stay safe and respect the fact that the people who protect our country will be doing their job!
Oh, no, no, no. . .my worst fears have been confirmed this morning. . .Christian's have waited too long to sound the warning cry, it's already too late! "You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting." Daniel 5:27. Please forgive me for procrastinating, I am without excuse! God help us all! Man Up, Campus Christians-Your Timidity Feeds the PC Beast
by David French April 9, 2015 4:14 PM Ever since the Battle of Indiana, Rod Dreher has been quoting anonymous e-mails and other conversations with conservatives in higher education. The message from each of them is roughly the same: It’s worse than you think, if our views were known, we’d have real trouble on campus, and the campus is closing to Christian thought — with even Christian campuses bowing to the PC gods. I have two responses to this. First, anyone facing social exclusion or career adversity because of their Christian or (especially) Christian conservative beliefs has my sympathy. Imagine, for a moment, working your entire life towards a career goal and then realizing that all that work could be rendered meaningless if your colleagues understand that you believe the Bible, that you can recite every word of the Apostles’ Creed (and mean it). Imagine the financial insecurity and the stress on your family at the thought that the wrong word at the wrong time could cost you your hard-earned job. I’ve been a Christian in Ivy League higher ed — both as a student and a teacher — and I know what it’s like. It’s not easy. Second, man up anyway. You’re part of the problem.  Our nation has fallen into serious moral decay. People no longer know right from wrong. We were once a, "Great City on a Hill" but our light has dimmed and is flickering out. We have become the laughingstock of the world! Join me to help bring America back from the brink of destruction while we pray and ask God for help! Together we can push for Godliness to be brought back to America!
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