Happy independence day!

Here are some brief thoughts that have been swirling around my mind the last few days.

• The teaching of Harold Camping is false. In Acts 1:7, Jesus said, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” Also in Matthew 24:36 we read,  “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
• This isn’t Camping’s first prediction. He made a similar prediction in 1994. That turned out to be false.
• Sadly, foolish predictions make the cause of Christ look stupid. But Camping isn’t the true essence of Christianity. He is the antithesis.
• May 21 is going to come and go. Then what? I urge true followers of Christ to be ready to help the deceived followers of Camping to pray for them and help them pick up the pieces. Point them to the true Jesus, not the Jesus that Camping has pointed them to.
• While the world has been buzzing about this (one of the top trending topics on Twitter for the past few days) the return of Christ has been mocked and ridiculed. The reality is that Jesus is coming someday! And we need to be ready. Don’t allow the foolishness of Harold Camping to deceive you. Jesus is returning. We must be ready, at any cost.

The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you Violence! and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. Habakkuk 1:1-4

Have you ever felt this way? Lord, how long are we going to have to go through this? How long? In chapter one, Habakkuk asked tough questions, chapter two, he waited and waited and in chapter three, Habakkuk had a deeper connection with God than he had ever had before.

Many never make it out of the chapter one in their lives. How tragic. We must ask the tough questions and be willing to wait.

Internet use explodes, occupies as many hours as TV

Prime Time TV ‘Objectifies and Fetishizes’ Underage Girls, Study Says

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3. Do I confidentially pass onto another what was told me in confidence?

4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work , or habits?

5. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

6. Did the Bible live in me today?

7. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?

8. Am I enjoying prayer?

9. When did I last speak to someone about my faith?

10. Do I pray about the money I spend?

11. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

12. Do I disobey God in anything?

13. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?

14. Am I defeated in any part of my life?

15. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?

16. How do I spend my spare time?

17. Am I proud?

18. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?

19. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I going to do about it?

20. Do I grumble and complain constantly?

21. Is Christ real to me?

But I kept thinking about all of my friends there who have way more tough than I do. Some who face abandonment because of the crimes they have committed. Some who are bound by the cycle of sin that they can’t break.

I pushed through the doors, listening to the iron gates slam behind me.

God met us in that little room. He ministered to me through the singing of the guys. He was with me as I preached.

Pray for those who are in jail. If you know someone who is incarcerated, write them, try to encourage them.

Also, pray for those that minister in jail, especially the chaplains. They could use all the prayer you can give them.

At times I wish we could see more success in our jail ministry, But when I think of that, God gently reminds me that we do have several former inmates attending the Gospel Center  including the town drunk, who has been transformed by God’s grace.

It takes so little effort to bring all of the memories back. The terrifying eruption of bright orange flame and thick black smoke; the towers collapsing; the survivors covered in ash; the penetration of the Pentegon; the heroism of the passengers above Somerset County Pennsylvania on United Flight 93.

Today, we pause to remember some of our finest heroes on that morning, nine years ago.

• Gospel Integrity and pastoral succession
• Excuses for NOT making ideas happen
• More teens becoming fake Christians