"The purpose of a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?...The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it where he will. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice." -Proverbs 20:5-6; 21:1-3, ESV

Too often when Christians talk about voting, we talk about having to vote for the lesser of two evils. This usually forces us to vote based on our fears (financial security, health, etc.) and affinities (worldly comforts), rather than simply and confidently voting our faith, in accordance with the Word and precepts of God.

Throughout biblical history, when God’s people have waned from wholeheartedly following His Word, He lifted up pagan leaders (e.g., Pharaoh of Joseph’s time, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, King Cyrus of Persia, etc.) to care for and discipline His wandering flock, so that they might turn back to Him and flee from all wickedness. Since January 20, 2009, we've had a type of King Nebuchadnezzar rule over our great country because too many of God's people have become comfortable and lazy; compromising with the ways of this world that satisfy our fleshly desires to be healthy, wealthy and safe. And just like the Israelites experienced, the saints of America foolishly trusted the feign promises of our current president, rather than trust the LORD God Almighty for what is best for us—whether in plenty or in want.

It would benefit all of us to commit Proverbs 30:8-9 to memory; and learn to pray it continuously.

"Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God."

-Proverbs 30:8-9, ESV

• Protect and provide God’s people with the freedom to worship the Almighty as He has commanded in every aspect of our lives;
• Uphold God’s commandments to honor the marriage union (which is essential because it's the earthly paradigm of Christ’s relationship with His Bride—the Church);
• Protect and defend the lives of those who cannot speak for themselves (unborn babies in their mother’s womb);

Prior to taking this quiz, I thought I most sided with Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio or Carly Fiorino who really seemed to know her stuff in the last debate (which after I doing some research, I found that much of her solutions were not feasible, numbers were inaccurate, and her tenure and accomplishments at HP weren't exactly what she purports). To my surprise, I most side with Senator Ted Cruz. After taking this quiz, I did some research on Ted Cruz, and found that yes, I indeed side with him on most issues. I'm grateful to the Lord for this resource, because my conscience is now clear in casting my vote for Senator Ted Cruz in the upcoming primaries and prayerfully, the presidential election on November 8, 2016.

There were some political issues I wasn't very familiar with, and therefore was delighted to find that iSideWith.com provides you with all the information you need to make a decision. There were of course, some issues, I was still undecided on, so I skipped those.

Part of my daily Bible Reading today was Proverbs 18. As I read this chapter, I stopped at verse two and began to earnestly pray for the Lord to keep me from being a fool in His sight. Whether I am a fool in the sight of people is of no grave consequence to me. Being a Christian doesn't mean I don't care what people think about me (who doesn't want to be liked?). It means I care more what Christ thinks about me (Gal 1:10).

Knowing the days are evil (Eph 5:16), I strive to live every day in view of That Day...when I will see Christ my Savior in His full glory. I long to hear Him say that I have done well in His sight and that my life was a beautiful offering (Mt 25:21, Mk 14:6). I pray this article is well pleasing to my Lord, and that He will use it as an instrument to sow peace and wisdom within the Body of Christ, while proclaiming the undefiled Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost.

Like many of you, I've seen the video (below) of Dr. Robert Jeffress, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Dallas and Dr. David Jeremiah, Senior Pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church join false teachers like Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, Jentezen Franklin, etc., in prayer for 2016 GOP presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

But before I share what I learned regarding Dr. Jeffress' participation in this meeting that took place in New York, at Trump Tower on Monday, September 28, 2015, I want to share these words from our Father God so that our hearts and minds are well-established on His precepts and not on our opinions or personal affinities.

"The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving...A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."

-Proverbs 14:8; 18:2, ESV

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

-Romans 12:1-2, ESV

"But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

-James 3:17-18, ESV

Now that our hearts and minds are firmly established in God's Word and His perfect precepts, let me share why I reached out to Dr. Robert Jeffress and not to Dr. David Jeremiah. Dr. Jeremiah has already proven to be an unorthodox and untrustworthy preacher/teacher of the Word of God by aligning himself with many false teachers including New-Age, Roman Catholic Roma Downey (with his participation in the making and promoting of A.D. The Bible Continues), and heretical Word of Faith preachers (pictured below). However, Dr. Jeffress hasn't been known to do the same, so I wanted to extend him grace (Matt 7:12) and provide him the opportunity to review and share his thoughts regarding his participation in last week's meeting with Donald Trump.




How did this prayer meeting come about? Who invited you?



I'm not exactly sure how/why I was included on the invitation list. I was with Mr. Trump several weeks earlier at his rally in Dallas because I was asked to pray at the event. As I said to The Christian Post, I am willing to pray for any presidential candidate who asks.

Does your participation in this two-hour meeting and prayer alongside well-known heretics like Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, etc., mean you're now in agreement with their false teachings and abominable practices?

No, it does not. I had no idea who was attending this meeting and my participation isn't an automatic approval of the theological viewpoint of every person in the room.


Are you concerned that your involvement with this group of false teachers might inadvertently mislead the flock you're called to shepherd at First Baptist Dallas to begin following/listening to these false teachers, if they don't already?

No, I'm not concerned at all. My congregation knows me and they know my commitment to biblical accuracy.


Can you say with a 100% assurance that your entire congregation has the spiritual discernment to know these are false teachers without you telling them, and in hindsight, if you could do this all over again, would you; or do you regret your involvement?


I think my congregation would know. I have no regrets about any aspect of my participation in the meeting last week with Mr. Trump.


I'm not wavering on my convictions that light should not partner with darkness (2 Cor 6:15). But that doesn't mean I'm going to drag Dr. Jeffress, who I believe to be a brother in Christ, through the hot coals of "Live out your Christian life, exactly the way I live mine...at the moment." None of us has perfect theology, therefore, none of our convictions are perfect and none can claim that at every point in our lives, that any of us, has worshiped Christ as we should. I don't want to judge my brother Dr. Jeffress based on what I would or wouldn't do (Pharisaical judgment), but I want to judge him based on God's perfect Word and precepts because that's the measure I want to be judged by.

And God's Word tells me to be gracious, patient and understanding. God says that His wisdom is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, good fruits, and is impartial and sincere. That is what I'm working to demonstrate here.

I lovingly and unequivocally disagree with Dr. Jeffress that his participation in this meeting with false teachers was wise or that it would not endanger his flock. And therefore, I pray for, rather than rally against my brother, that God would move His heart to do what's most pleasing to Him, no matter how uncomfortable or humbling that experience may be. I also pray that all of us would deal with Dr. Jeffress in the loving and understanding way we would want to be dealt with if we were found to be in error (Prov 15:1, 21:1, 22:11).

Being a mom, and especially a Christian mom, is hard. It's what I call, hard heart-work. God builds a special bond between a mother and each of her children. There's something inexplicably wonderful about the life that proceeds from a mother's womb. Which is why abortion is such a horrible and wicked thing to encourage women to do—to strip herself of the beautiful life God graciously gave her in spite of what sins she may have committed, or what sins may have been committed against her. 

Every child is an unmerited gift from God.

Therefore, in view of God's mercy, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship. This command extends to motherhood also. Which means, rather than mothering our children in order to please and seek love for self, we care for our children in order to please and love God and our children sacrificially, and not just when it's easy, fun and dignified. It means we must love God and our children even when it's hard, painful and humiliating. And those three words often sum up the other side of motherhood that many of us neither want to think about or talk about. But we must.

Motherhood is a beautiful thing. It's filled with incalculable joys and fears from the moment you realize God has graced you with the ability to bring forth life.

I remember my first pregnancy; amazed that there was another human being inside of me; that God was secretly forming every part of him: visible (his body and personality) and invisible (his soul). My son was safely tucked in my womb, hidden from view and harm. And it was my job to keep it that way—to love and protect my child—to do him good and not harm all the days of his life—to train him in the love and discipline of the Lord (Eph 6:4). And it's still my job because a mother doesn't stop laboring for her children when she gives birth. A mother stops laboring for her children when either she or they, die their first death.

Sometimes a mother's labor results in great joy and sometimes it results in great pain. A mother has great joy when she gets to see the physical fruit of her labor—a living being from her womb; and when she gets to see the spiritual fruit of her labor—the life of her child secured in Christ. Along with these joys come the arduous, daily heart-work of keeping your child healthy, clean, fed, clothed, warm, safe and especially, Christ-honoring. A mother who fears the LORD, joyfully and willingly sacrifices her own comforts for her child's comforts. She would happily give up her food and go hungry, rather than see her child go hungry. She would cheerfully give up her sweater or coat and be cold, rather than see her child shiver. She would generously give up all her strength and be weak, rather than see her child hurting; and she would, without hesitation, joyfully give up her own life, rather than take the life of her child. A mother who fears the LORD, sacrifices everything, whether great or small, for her child's benefit, without consideration for her own. That's the way God made us. And that's what Jesus exampled for us when He disrobed Himself of His glory, left Heaven, and came to earth—to suffer, to die, and to rise from the grave, to grant eternal life, to all who repent and believe.

Being a mother isn't about fulfilling our already overweening egos. It's not about living our unfulfilled dreams and hopes through our children. It's not our second chance at life. It's our children's first chance to live the life God planned for them. Our children's lives are not about filling voids, trapping men, or something to be discarded because they're inconveniencing us somehow. Our children's lives are gifts from the Lord in spite of our sins, our frailties and ineptness; to properly love and care for another human being.

Being a mother who fears the Lord requires the willingness to suffer well and long for our children's best. It means being willing to tell your children hard truths about themselves, even if that means they won't like you...or even hate and totally reject you. It means daily feeding them the Gospel of Jesus Christ, reminding them that we're all sinners in desperate need of the one and only Savior. It means genuinely sharing your sins (age appropriate) so that they may learn and not fall into the same temptations. It means humbly asking them for forgiveness when you've sinned against them. It means living what you say you believe about Jesus; that He is sovereign, good, and perfect. Therefore, you're entire being, your thoughts, opinions, and conduct is based on what's found in the holy Word of God and not what's found in our defiled, self-absorbed world, or selves.

My hardest heart-work of being a mother has never been in the physical realm. It's always been the spiritual battles I've fought and continue to fight for and with my children, on my knees, and in my face-to-face conversations with them. I've always told my children that they can count on me to help them with anything...except sin. And I continue to remind them that I will stand against them, if necessary, with all the strength God provides, to give them what is good and not evil. It's extremely painful to watch my children sin (the same or differently than me), and this pain often causes me to want to crawl into a hole and just cry, but I don't...crawl into a hole. Rather, I follow my Savior and do what He did when He was here. I go to a lonely place (Lk 5:16) and I cry and talk to God Almighty (Ps 40:1-4, 16-17) instead of crying and talking to myself in the hole of self-pity.

I'd love to tell you that training up your children in the way of the Lord is easy and filled with stories of all the "great and amazing things God is doing" in their lives. I'd love to tell you that if you raise your children in the love and discipline of the Lord, they will love, honor and appreciate you. But I can't tell you any of these things because it's not true. Proverbs 22:6 is a precept for parents to obey, not a promise of absolute results.

We have two sons, 22 and 20. We raised them both in the love and discipline of the Lord Jesus Christ. We imperfectly lived out our faith before them; repenting to God and to our children whenever we sinned (which for me, was and still is, more often than I'd like). We always showed them how every rule for our family could be found in God's Word so that they would know that it is by the Lord's Word and standard, and not by our word and standard that our family is established and maintained.

With all our hearts, we loved and obeyed God's mandate to parents in Deuteronomy 6:5-9. Though I'm a night owl rather than a morning person, I willingly died to my natural inclinations, for how God created my children...to rise early (Php 2:3-4). During the first 18 years of my children's lives, I would wake up one and a half to two hours earlier than my children in order to have my personal praise and quiet time with the Lord, prepare a hot breakfast for our boys, and do our daily breakfast devotional. Between the ages of four and five, I taught them how to have their own praise and quiet time with the Lord; training them to wake up an hour before school so that they would have ample time for private and family worship.

When they were school-aged, we'd continue our talk about the Lord on the way to school, when I picked them up and as we did homework and played together. We'd pray and discuss the Lord at dinner, and during our "family time". When we took them to bed, we'd snuggle them (through age 13), prayed with them, then scratched their backs and massaged their heads as we sang any three songs they chose, to worship and praise our God together.

We literally have God's Word on our walls, on our furniture and everywhere you turn in our home. We purchased our children pocket Bibles so they would have God's Word with them wherever they go. I made them bookmarks with Scriptures to help them through trials and remind them of how to humbly receive praise. I made them lunch every day and included a simple note that reminded them of God's love, sovereignty and goodness in their lives. Since we felt led to public school our sons (I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, I recommend homeschooling), I practically lived at their schools, volunteering for everything I could: art assistant, music assistant, homeroom mom, office assistant, library assistant, chaperone, etc. I basically attended school with my children and walked or drove home with them when we were done. On the way home, I would ask them about how they witnessed God's goodness throughout their day.

Our sons were raised in sound doctrine and knowing how to interpret Scripture with Scripture rather than by their emotions or worldly philosophies. We purchased them reference Bibles by the time they both reached the third grade and taught them what the little numbers and letters next to verses and words meant and how to use the concordance in the back. We purchased a Holman Bible Atlas and taught them the timeline of events in the Bible as well as go over the maps so they could see the locations and distances of where people lived, how they traveled, and how far they traveled to obey God.

We purchased the Basic Training Course so that as a family, we might learn how to biblically and effectively share the true Gospel of God's grace rather than the prevalent, man-centered false gospel. We took the course together when our sons were 9 and 11, and we did all the activities together so that we might labor in the Lord's harvest field as a family. When they turned 12, we purchased Student Study Bibles (I recommend the ESV, it's excellent) so they could learn to study God's Word for themselves, with helpful resources and notes that were applicable for their life stage. There's much more that we did and still do with our oldest son who's still home with us, but I'll stop here because I think you get the point: my husband and I, with all our hearts, poured into our children, the love of God and the holy Word as best as we could.

I don't share any of this so you'll think highly of us. Rather, I share this with you to demonstrate that though you too may love and obey God's command in Deuteronomy 6:5-9, it's not to your glory if your children grow into Christ-honoring adults, nor your complete blame (if at all) if they grow into Christ-mocking adults. As I shared earlier, we have two sons, 22 and 20. Our youngest is our prodigal and left home at 19 to live his life as he pleased and not as God pleased. Our oldest is still with us while working to receive his graduate degree in Accounting. But that doesn't mean our oldest son is perfect and never brings us heartache like our youngest son does. It just means that though they were both raised in the love and discipline of our Lord, they walk divergent paths. We love them both dearly (for how can a mother lack compassion for a son from her womb?) and fervently pray for both of them to walk in a manner that's worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ (Col 1:9-12).

Though sometimes Christ-honoring parents are blessed to raise Christ-honoring children, some of us are blessed to continue our labor for our children's eternal souls until the day one of us dies. And sometimes those who aren't Christ-honoring parents, produce Christ-honoring children (e.g., Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the famous atheist, who's oldest son William "Bill" became a Christian because of God's sovereign choosing and the faithful labor of others). This is why we can't take credit or full blame for how our children choose to live. God is sovereign and all knowing and all wise. We are not.

While the rejection of our youngest son continues to pain us, the greatest heartache isn't that he isn't reconciled to us, but that he's not reconciled to God Almighty. My heart grieves every time either of our sons sin and succumbs to ways of the world (what's cool and popular) over the holy ways of God that are good and right. But their lives are not mine to hold, rather their lives are mine to entrust to the LORD who alone is faithful (2 Tim 2:13).

Whatever stage you're currently in with your mothering, please know, there's nothing wrong with desiring godly children whose lives are eternally secured in Christ. This is the most loving thing a mother can desire for her children. And we should certainly labor for that. But it's a sin to allow this good desire to be the hope and reason why you train them up in the love and discipline of the Lord—because it becomes an idol. The only reason why we should or shouldn't do anything, is for the pleasure, honor and glory of God. If your heart's sole purpose in training your children as God commands is because you love Him first and foremost, then your hard heart-work will not be in vain. You will not be prone to pride if your children walk with the Lord, nor will you be crushed if they don't. No matter the results, you will remain steadfast in hope, persevere in your labor for your children without bitterness, be patient in tribulation, fervent in prayer, bless them if they persecute you, rejoice with them in righteousness, and live peaceably with them as much as it is up to you (Rom 12:9-21).

Personality quizzes like, "What's Your Emotional Type?", "Which Famous Elizabeth Are You?", "What Does Your Eye Color Mean?", "Which State Do You Actually Belong In?" or worse, Christianized versions like, "Which Bible Character Are You?" not only clog many Facebook newsfeeds, but they're also the avenue in which many people subliminally praise themselves and invite others to join in.

One of the biggest problems with these online personality quizzes is that there are a limited number of options of what your personality can be like, and they're largely generic so that your results can be somewhat true about everybody.

"The quizzes are overwhelmingly upbeat and lighthearted in nature, a calculated decision by the people engineering them. After all, they’re designed to be an affirmation of how you see yourself, not an assessment of who you really are." -New York Post

"People love knowing and talking about themselves. It’s social currency. And these quizzes are a great opportunity for people to compare themselves with others." -Jonah Berger (quoted in Mashable's Q: Why Are Quizzes Suddenly So Popular? A: Narcissism)

There was once a time when I took a few of this personality quizzes for the sake of trying to speak the same love language as someone I befriended earlier this year. She often took these quizzes and posted her results on her timeline. In order to love her well, with what I believed at the time, to be harmless, I would take them too, comment on her post with my results, and encourage her where I thought I could. One time, I posted my results from the "Which Bible Character Are You?" on my own timeline, and sadly influenced others to waste their time doing the same. Though I never took the results of these quizzes seriously (or even with a grain of salt), I regret having unwisely led my friends (who trust me) to participate in vain activities, as well as inadvertently fish for compliments from them.

I didn't realize the way I was trying to love my new friend, wasn't loving at all; and was also very unwise. Not knowing her very well, it turned out that my compliments were actually mere flattery because the attributes I affirmed from her quiz results were not true of her character. Thus, I did her great harm rather than good, because instead of being more prayerful and mindful of Proverbs 14:8, "The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving." I hastily contributed to her already prideful and erroneous view of herself.

Learning from this grave mistake, I stopped "liking" and commenting on her quiz posts in order to keep from feeding her pride, hoping that through God's Word, I could truly exhort her in what is true and good. Unfortunately, God's Word is not her favorite thing to use to assess herself so she continued to find her identity in these fabricated, narcissistically-geared quizzes, which sadly encouraged other mutual Christian friends to do the same. That's why these quizzes are so popular—like viruses, they're highly contagious, spread from personal contact, and rapidly infect others with the vanity bug.

I understand why people of this world do this, but I'm completely bewildered as to why Christians do this. People of this world love talking and learning more about themselves, but people of God (should) love talking and learning more about God. Those who do not know Christ, don't genuinely know who they are and need others to tell them. They investigate and determine their identity based on horoscopes, what their family and friends say about them, what magazines and now, social media quizzes say who they are based on their responses to questions about their fickle personal affinities. But for Christians to be just as consumed with these personality quizzes is quite strange. I'm not saying these quizzes can't be silly and fun, they are. But to take and post them often is very odd behavior for anyone who professes to know and be known by God Almighty who readily made available, His Word—the perfect mirror that displays what our hearts truly look like—revealing to us, who we really are.

As children of the Most High God, if we want to know whether or not we love God and others well, if we manage our time well, if we're good stewards of our finances, if we're good spouses/parents/friends or whatever we want to know about ourselves, we ought to look into the perfect mirror of God's holy Word so that we will not only know what our true character strengths are, but also what our sin issues are so that we can repent and die to our sins, and live more fully in Christ.

Here's the bottom line: the goal and pursuits of people of this world is happiness; the goal and pursuits of people of God is holiness. What you pursue reveals which you are...regardless of what those unscientific, geared-to-make-you-feel-good, personality quizzes say.

"One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple."

-Psalm 27:4, ESV

Photo credit: David Whitlow, courtesy of AFFIRM Films/Provident Films War Room with Priscilla Shirer and Beth Moore

As time passed, I began to see and hear more about this movie. Then about a week ago, I saw that Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer were in the film, with Shirer playing the lead female role. This instantly gave me cause to be greatly concerned about the message of the movie. For those who don't know about Beth Moore's false teachings, please refer to my article here: "What Do Ann Voskamp, Beth Moore and Sarah Young Have in Common?". In short, Beth Moore believes in the unbiblical practice of "binding Satan", as well as proudly declaring her extra-biblical prophetic messages and false visions from the Lord. Unfortunately, Priscilla Shirer is close friends, ministry partners, and contemplative prayer practitioner/teacher with Beth Moore, and as God warned us, "Bad company, ruins good morals." (1 Cor 15:33)—and Beth Moore is certainly bad company for anyone, especially believers.

But still, I wanted to be open-minded about the movie, so I prayed about whether or not I should go see it and write a review on it myself. Thankfully, the Lord answered my prayers with these two reviews by Justin Peters and Seth Dunn.

War Room sadly promotes and teaches: wives to be worldly submissive rather than biblically submissive, conversing with Satan, and many other Word of Faith types of practices. But sadly, I am not surprised because Alex Kendrick did not heed the admonition in 1 Corinthians 15:33, and earlier this year, he immersed himself with Word of Faith false teachers at the Missions and Marketplace Conference 2015. Strangely enough, the link to this year's speakers (as you can see pictured below), has recently been deleted so that you can't see that Alex Kendrick was one of their keynote speakers.



You can't travel with and work alongside false teachers and remain completely undefiled by their heresies and presumptuous blasphemes they proclaim and to their hurt, teach others to practice. This is why I wasn't surprised to hear that there were so many Word of Faith type prayers and proclamations (e.g., when Mrs. Clara was held at knife-point, she rebuked her assailant "in the name of Jesus", Elizabeth rebuking Satan, etc.).

"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

"Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.' "

-Jude 1:3-4; 8-9, ESV

While I agree with the premise of this movie: that we need to pray more, I disagree with the unbiblical manner in which War Room teaches and promotes prayer—as our personal power source to get something from God (to fix our lives) rather than what Christ told us prayer is for—the gift of God to know and submit to His will rather than our own.

I also take serious issue with the one little line by Beth Moore's character has, "Sometimes submission to your husband looks like ducking so the Lord’s punch hits him instead". Sisters, while this may feed our flesh, it certainly does not feed our spirits with pure spiritual milk. This line completely opposes the humble, loving and biblically submissive heart-disposition God delights in Proverbs 31:11-12. Rather, a godly wife readily admits she is a sinner and is grateful for the mercy she's received from the Lord, therefore delights to submit to  her husband from her overflowing love for Christ, and not so that her husband would get "punched" by God (which denigrates our Father's holy and righteous character). A truly biblically submissive wife understands the admonition given to ungodly husbands in 1 Peter 3:7 and out of her love for Christ and her husband, she prays for him and submits to him for His good and not for his harm—for God to grant him the same mercy she's received in Christ.

I'm disappointed and saddened that this latest film from the Kendrick Brothers succumbed to the seeker-friendly, happy-clappy, false Christianity. But I hope and pray that their next film will return to more doctrinally sound portrayals of what it looks like to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ—the light and salt of the earth.

As you read the reviews from Justin Peters and Seth Dunn, please keep in mind something Charles Spurgeon once said, "Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right." And War Room is dangerous, because it's almost right.

Why Commenting is Closed

I did a rare thing today. I closed comments on this article early because I'm responsible to God for all the the content found on this site, including the comments.

I've learned from the past, and can more quickly discern when an article begins to garner too many ill-mannered commenters rather than edifying commenters. It doesn't bother me when people disagree with me (read my other posts where hundreds of people disagree with me, here and at the Christian Post). I actually appreciate and am very encouraged by sincere, loving and challenging comments/questions by brothers and sisters in the Lord and always pray about and take into serious consideration any disagreements. I know that I can and am often wrong and am encouraged by the true expression of love that I'm shown by those who care enough to correct me. So I test sincere disagreements with God's Word and if I'm right, I stand firm, and if I'm wrong, I thank the person who loved me enough to take the time to correct me and openly share my error so others won't make the same error I did.

Commenting on my blog is allowed as long as it's respectful, loving, and edifying to others; and most importantly, honoring to Christ (Ephesians 4:29-32, 5:4 and 2 Tim 2:14, 24-26). When comments become belligerent and emotion-led rather than Spirit-led, I close the thread so that I may maintain an environment of God's truth and peace, rather than provide a place for havoc and ranting. 

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 25, 2015 – San Francisco residents may look up to see a rainbow in the sky next week, but it won’t indicate the typical support for gay rights. A new movie that over 1,000 LGBT supporters have warned the public not to watch will be advertised on a banner for two days over San Francisco.

While pro-LGBT viewers have slammed the film on online review sites, the film’s producer is not deterred. Ray Comfort, whose movies have been seen by millions, said, “Despite the calls for censorship and displays of intolerance, we’re hoping people will be open-minded enough to watch the film and come to their own conclusion.”

As the best-selling author noted, not all perceive the movie to be heavy-handed. One viewer commented, “I have to say, as a gay woman who watched Audacity, I agree that the topic was handled with love and compassion which was refreshing to see…the message was clear (even if it was one I disagreed with as an atheist).”

After flying the banner over San Francisco, the producer plans to target Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Colorado Springs, Dallas, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, and New York. Comfort explains his goal for the banners, and the film itself: “A film reviewer stated that ‘this film has the potential to ease the tensions between Christians and the LGBT community.’ That’s something I think most people would agree is sorely needed these days.”

“Audacity” received 100,000 YouTube views in five days. It may be freely seen on www.AudacityMovie.com.

Earlier today at 6:45 a.m., a horrifyingly sinful act was witnessed when three innocent people were gunned down in Moneta, Virginia during a live WDBJ-TV interview: a reporter (Alison Parker, 24), a cameraman (Adam Ward, 27), and a woman being interviewed (Vicki  Gardner). It is heartbreaking that both Alison and Adam were killed, but I'm grateful to the Lord that Vicki has already undergone surgery and is in stable condition.

Though I'm aware of the evil in this world, I was still stunned by this act of violence by Bryce Williams (legal name: Vester Lee Flanagan) who was once a reporter and co-worker of both Alison and Adam at WDBJ. Two hours after the shooting, Williams faxed a 23-page manifesto to ABC News. In this manifesto, Williams claims that he was racially discriminated against and harassed by black men and white women because he was a homosexual black man. Williams also stated that he's "been a human powder keg for a while…just waiting to go BOOM!!" and that the church shooting in Charleston was the final spark that ignited his bustling fuse. Sadly, he also stated what many who are lost in their sins say—that God told him to do it. But those of us who truly know God, know this is not true. And my heart grieves for others who, like Bryce Williams, are completely deceived by their own sin nature.

It seems lately, that every time we watch or hear the news, there's always something that tempts us to fear man rather than God. There seems to be constant heart wrenching news about violence and the increasing depravity of man being celebrated while character, honor and holiness is being beaten to a pulp or threatened to be silenced. So what's a Christian to do? We are to do what we should always be doing—getting on our knees: repenting of our sins, asking God to forgive others, and praying for the wisdom, courage and love to do what's right in God's sight.

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him [the Almighty] who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

-Matthew 10:28, ESV

News like this senseless and tragic shooting today, should not rattle or frighten a Christian or scare us into remaining in more of a Christian bubble than some of us already are. News like this should wake up the idle Christians from their selfish stupor and exhort the faithful Christians to continue preaching the Gospel with more compassion and urgency. Ultimately, there is no human program, law or institution that can or will stop the cause of these continual evils we inflict upon one another. The only solution, the only true hope and help for anyone, is to hear and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So before you decide to judge, hate and call Bryce Williams ugly names, remember that we're all capable of such heinous crimes. Remember that in the sight of the one and only holy God, we all have sinned the greatest sin—rebellion against God Almighty; therefore we all deserve the greatest punishment—eternal damnation in Hell. But because God is gracious and full of mercy and compassion, He crushed His own Son, making Christ the propitiation for our sins. Making Him who knew no sin to be sin for us—us, who knew nothing but sin prior to the Father's gift of faith in His Son.

Remember what the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write to the Ephesians. Then pray for Bryce Williams' family and friends and others like him. Pray for God to grant them all the gift of repentance that leads to saving faith in Jesus Christ. And be brave—pray for God to give you opportunities to share the Gospel of His grace with others, even people you may feel uncomfortable or fearful around (homosexuals, drug users, or simply people who aren't like you).

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"

-Ephesians 2:1-6, ESV

Though it's an icky thought to have an electronic device (pacemaker) in my chest and two electrical wires (leads) in two chambers of my heart (right atrium and ventricle), I'm grateful to the LORD for providing this medical intervention that's making my heart beat as often as it should and gradually elevate as necessary, with activity.

I have a six week recovery that includes not being able to raise my left arm above my head, bear down on it, extend it back, etc. so as not to pull the leads out of my heart, which would require another surgery to put them back in. And for the first two weeks, I can't drive or do much of anything but rest, and possibly, some very light activity. Six weeks gives the tissue in my heart enough time to surround the leads and hold them in place. I never realized how many things I have to do that causes me to have to put my arms above my head (wash and brush my hair, getting dressed, reaching for a drinking glass, etc.), bear down on it (opening prescription meds, closing food lids) and extending it backward (to scratch an itch, to wash, get dressed, etc). This has caused severe pain in my right shoulder and arm due to overuse. So, I'll have to get this figured out too...perhaps...I just need to rest more.

Pain in the Flesh

I misread my care instructions and began some "normal" daily activity the day I got home from the hospital (e.g., unload the dishwasher, try to write this update). It turns out, I was supposed to pretty much do nothing but rest the first three days, and possibly have some very light activity for the next two weeks. Due to being overly zealous after my surgery, the past few days have been rough. I've had severe heaviness in my chest (where my sternum and heart are) so that it's difficult and very painful to catch a full breath. I've also had extreme pain in my shoulders, neck and upper back; so much so, I needed to take a pain med (Tramadol). I don't like pain meds due to the constipation and other side effects it causes. But thankfully, my Father God has brought me through many excruciating trials throughout my life that though my body has a low pain tolerance, I have a high pain threshold. This gift from the Lord made it possible for me to only have to take one pain med the first day home and I've been able to manage these other days with Tylenol here and there. God always knows what's ahead and provides us with what we need...when we need it.

In a couple of weeks I'll have my first post-op visit with my Cardiac Electrophysiologist (CE) and the rep from St. Jude's Medical (where my pacemaker is from) to make sure the personal settings they made for my pacemaker are working well for me, and to review the readings from my pacemaker to decide if, in conjunction with my pacemaker, I'll need heart meds to control my episodes of SVTs (supraventricular tachycardia), PACs (premature atrial contractions) and PVCs (premature ventricular contractions) caused by my heart arrhythmia: sick sinus syndrome. Both my Cardiologist and CE diagnosed me with sick sinus syndrome from the readings of my 14-day heart monitor. From this report, they discovered that I was having more bouts of bradycardia than the other arrhythmias (which was causing my lightheadedness, dizziness and near fainting spells). The pacemaker only controls my bradycardia, so my prayer is that the LORD isn't allowing enough of those other arrhythmias to occur so that medication is not needed to control them. But again, I am the Lord's handmaiden, let all things be done to me as He pleases. I know that whatever God wills is better than whatever I will.

Joy in the Lord

In the hopes that I might daily use and not waste the spiritual gifts God has given me, one of my constant prayers is Romans 1:11-12, "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine." because I never know when I'll be with a fellow believer. One of the unique joys of being a child of the Most High God is the blessing of unpretentious, altruistic and beautiful fellowship with other saints in Christ Jesus, everywhere I go (1 Pet 1:22).

I had my hospital tract bag filled with books, DVDs, CDs and tracts so that I would be ready to exhort saints to press on and share the Gospel with the lost.

Right from the beginning, I was able to encourage and be encouraged by the faith of my phlebotomist and nurse who did the pre-surgery prep work for me. They shared personal details and concerns about their lives and the Lord allowed me to share His Word with them as only He knew they needed at that moment (Eph 4:29, another one of my constant prayers). My precious nurse had been a missionary in Tanzania for six years and has only been back in the U.S. for the past year. We discussed much about how every Christian is called to be a missionary—to share the Gospel, no matter where God puts us, in Tanzania, here in our country, as a nurse or as a patient. I gave her "God Has a Wonderful Plan For Your Life" (by Ray Comfort) to encourage her. We exchanged contact info and we're already planning on our next fellowship together! She told me she's enjoying the book and Ray's message regarding evangelism. It's such an incredible blessing to know that in Christ, I have the riches of His kingdom that I may freely and generously share with others.

Neither where we live for a time nor what position God grants us for a time, should be wasted. All that we are, wherever we are and whatever we do, we ought to do for God's pleasure and glory alone; for this is our strength and joy—our joy in the Lord (1 Jn 5:3)!

My Father God also blessed me with the joy of meeting a brother in Christ, my anesthesiologist. We shared how we're mutually inspired to share the the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ and how we both love and appreciate all the witnessing tools and resources Ray makes available through his ministry, Living Waters Publications. He told me how encouraged he's been by our brother Ray's ministry and asked me to relay a message of great thanks to Ray for his faithfulness and love for Christ and all those He came to save. So my Romans 1:11-12 prayer extended all the way to California and I was glad for it!

My anesthesiologist and I chatted about our mutual love and faith in Christ all the way up to the point of him putting me to sleep. As I began to fall asleep, I prayed that the Lord would help me (as He's done before) to share the Gospel, whether or not I'm fully conscience. Because I'm never completely lucid while in the recovery room, I can't recall all that I said and did, but I do recall asking those around me (I don't know how many were there because my eyes were still closed, but I heard multiple voices), "Do you know Jesus Christ?" There were varied responses and I don't remember if I got to share the entire Gospel, but I do recall saying, "You must repent and believe...there's nothing more important than your eternal salvation." I also remember repeating that multiple times and I'm not sure if I was talking to the same person/people. But I was grateful that the LORD granted me my request and I pray that the seed He gave me to sow was on the soft and tendered hearts that He's prepared to receive and believe the Gospel.

"This message [the Gospel] is not supposed to make us tame and comfortable. Christ crucified and raised for our justification is intended to unleash us, embolden us, and put us to work. Christianity is much more about serious adventure than sentimentalized safety. It is much more about faith in suffering than ease in prosperity. It is much more about death—death to sin and self—than it is about personal affirmation and precious moments."

-Dr. Owen Strachan, Tabletalk Magazine, August 2015 issue

Sadly today, we have too many "Christian Picnickers" and too few "Christian Runners". Our lives are but a mist and none of us are guaranteed our next breath. Just because I'm so obviously ill doesn't mean I will die before you will. No one takes one breath more or one breath less than God has ordained before the foundation of the world (Ps 139:16). And we ought not take that truth lightly or forget it altogether. Rather, we ought to embrace all that God has spoken to us through His Word and make the most of every moment we have for the glory and pleasure of our Savior, instead of indulging ourselves with personal affirmations and self-centered desires and fears.

My prayer is that God uses everything...everything that He's given me: my marriage, my parenting, my friendships, my time, my money, my talents, my spiritual gifts, my social media platforms, my writings, my errands, my broken body, and every conversation, to be something that's beautiful in His sight (Mk 14:6). And I pray this for everyone who claims Christ as their Savior; that we would all hunger and thirst for righteousness, and like our Father God, that our hearts would be filled with compassion for the lost. Don't waste another breath. Don't waste another vacation, errand, telemarketing call, etc. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and generously give others what you profess you're grateful for—Christ, given to you by God, as a propitiation for your sins, so that you may have eternal life in His Son.