What Did He Die For?

I was thinking of this song recently (sung by Twila Paris). I really like this video, although I hope people won't focus so much on the supposed pictures of Jesus or where it may have come from. It is a nice tribute to soldiers who have fought and suffered and died for freedom as well. I hope that it will be a reminder that Jesus did come to die for sins that He never committed (since He never sinned). That was more difficult than even dying for country or friends. He died for those who were His enemies, so that we could become His children. That is why Christians can live for Him... "to give all that we are for all that He is."

4th of July Heroes Tribute from hiei15 on GodTube.

Who Do You Believe Jesus Is?

Who do you believe Jesus is?   Is the Jesus that you believe in the same Jesus the Bible talks about?  I found this video worth sharing with you, and Mark Spence does a good job delineating the answer for us.  Please don't let the cartoonlike puppet figures get in the way of understanding what he is saying. (For those who don't know, the host is Todd Friel from Wretched Radio.)

I really like the way that Mark explains what the Bible teaches about Jesus.   I watch him on the On The Box program online along with the other guys who are regulars on there.  He does a good job in answering questions, and I think he makes an excellent teacher.

40 Arabic Words vs 33 Greek Words

What does the Qur'an say and what does the Bible say about the Crucifixion of Jesus? The following video is eye opening and should be very interesting to those reading my blog:

If you speak Arabic, please go to the following site and open the PDF and see what it says (For Your Joy):   http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/online-books/for-your-joy?lang=ar

If you missed my previous blog post on the subject of Jesus and Islam, please check it out:
http://ktundergrace.blogspot.com/2012/05/why-i-love-jesus-but-reject-islam.html

IndoctriNation - Public Schools in America Exposed

Recently some friends of the family shared a DVD with us entitled IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America .  I may have heard the name before, but it was more interesting than you might think.

If you have kids in school or had them or were a kid once yourself, the documentary should be very interesting to you.  If your kids are in public school, or you think that it's okay to send them there...please, I urge you to watch the IndoctriNation DVD!

I will share the trailer further down this post.  I do not endorse Charles Stanley who is shown in it (at least I believe he is not Biblically qualified to be a pastor anyway).  Albert Mohler, Jr. and Voddie Baucham are in it as well as Ken Ham.  The guy narrating came from Scotland, so it's fun to hear his accent when he talks.

I went to public school up through 3rd grade and then did homeschooling and Christian schooling off and on through the rest of my school days.  Even Christian schools had problems with teaching and movies and book choices and non-Christian students.  I feel that I had a pretty solid foundation with my family and teaching from some churches.  It wasn't cool to be homeschooled when I was young.  That happened later.  By the time they were having groups, we felt we were too much older than the others to want to join.  I did go to church groups with people around my age.  We didn't own a TV for many years, so we were a bit different that way as well.  I was a bit alienated, but I admit I was a bit proud of being different I think.  I am thankful I had less of the garbage from TV and a lot of trashy movies put into my mind at a vulnerable age.  It also has helped me to have higher standards than I would have even having more access now.  We read books and listened to the radio.  When computers came, we didn't have the internet until I was an adult.

We did have a school that we were under the umbrella of when I was homeschooled with siblings, so that all was legal.  We did feel we had to not go out to play much until after "normal" school hours.  That wasn't a big problem really. 

We had neighbor friends that we played with and friends at church.  Still, I felt more comfortable being around adults than a lot of kids might.  Nowadays they have lots of homeschool associations and field trips for homeschoolers.  There are a lot more options and choices as well I believe.

The documentary shows the origins of public education in America and where it is at today...especially from a Christian perspective, and it may shock and frighten you a bit.  Really, I believe it is best to have Christian parents have full control of their kids' education.  There is no guarantee that a child will become a Christian, but at least you can shepherd them and tell them the truth.  If they become Christians, you can choose what settings to let them be salt and light in (not in public school) and see what the world is like in small doses.  There is no need to throw them to the wolves for their schooling!  I prayed to receive Christ when I was 5, but my growth was very gradual.  I still had struggles with sin, but looking back I can remember some things that showed me I had some small steps of growth.  When I was 13, I think that I started to grow more spiritually, although I struggled with sin and doubts because of that.  I had daydreams of being a missionary back then.  I had some good teaching at Grace Community Church at that age ... in California.   Life as a Christian is a continual spiritual battle, and kids need encouragement and good Biblical doctrine as well as the Gospel and love and protection. 

Update: You can now watch the entire IndoctriNation documentary FREE!
See more here: IndoctriNation

Why I Love Jesus But Reject Islam

I have an interest in people who are Muslims.  I know that there is no assurance of eternal life in their religion.   I really found this video very interesting, and then I'm going to share some questions for Muslims to ask themselves after watching it. 

1. Why did Jesus have a virgin birth when no other prophet did?
2. Why would Jesus come back to judge, if He was just a prophet?
3. You have a story that says that Jesus took a piece of clay and threw it into the air and created a bird.  Can anyone apart from God create life?
4. You believe that God's Word cannot be changed, and yet are you not teaching or taught the opposite?

Jesus claimed He was the only way to God. 
John 14:6 NASB
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Titus 3:4-7 NASB
But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

I truly care about Muslims, and I urge you to take the good person test at the following link:
http://needGod.com

This is very important, and your eternal destiny and hope and joy and relationship with God depend on what you believe about Jesus.

Chen Guangcheng & China

Many of you have probably heard the story about Chen Guangcheng in China.  He is considered a human rights activist in China.  I read about other cases that he was involved in, but the one that most interested me was the one that first brought him to my attention.  He brought awareness about forced abortions and sterilizations to people...standing up against the one child policy and for women.
From what I've read he was imprisoned for something like 4 years and then put under house arrest with his family. 
Reports are that they tortured him ... and his wife.  (They have two children.) 
How many of us are willing to go that far to save lives?  How many of us do much of anything to save babies in the womb from being slaughtered even willingly in the U.S.?   We certainly have a lot less at risk in our efforts to make a difference (even using http://180movie.com).

His escape from imprisonment was amazing, especially realizing the fact that he is blind since sometime in his childhood.  Chen was late getting any education, and some of what he learned he taught himself.   Apparently he had another occupation aside from being a lawyer.

Many years ago I got interested in China and freedom there.  I used to watch the U.S. Congress (House of Representatives) ...in the 1990s I believe ... when they were discussing MFN status ...which changed to NTR... status for China.  MFN stood for Most Favored Nation and NTR stands for Normalized Trade Relations I believe.  Anyway, I also used to listen to a talk show on a Christian radio station where China was also discussed.   I once interviewed a guy from Laos which is not in China, but has some similar freedom issues.  I did a terrible interview job (I barely got questions out...I probably still have a recording of it), but it was to help me with my Missions class in high school I believe.

I have learned about China that they have a Three Self Church controlled by the government.  People are not allowed legally to give the Gospel to people under 18 years of age.  They have cracked down even in recent years on some house churches.

There was concern about China getting our technology and getting money to build up their military.  They also have used prisoners to make some of the goods that people buy here in the U.S. (and probably other countries).  Some of those prisoners crimes may be the fact that they are a Christian or they -- like Chen -- want to make people aware of some of the serious problems in China.
In China, there are other places where people work for long hours at little pay with risk of injury.  Things may be improving some on that score in some of the factories.

Not all places in China are the same, and there is some freedom for Christians in some areas of China.  Prayer is needed that good solid Biblical doctrine gets into the house churches of China, and that many more people will repent and believe...putting their trust in the Lord in China.  Prayer is needed for the Christians who are persecuted and for the hearts of the leaders and prison guards to be changed as well.  I have prayed for Chen Guangcheng and his family, and I used to pray more for people in China.  This situation is a good reminder to not give up praying for people in other parts of the world that they will hear the Gospel, and also that God will protect His people and may even bring more freedom for them there in China.

In California near where I used to live there are a lot of people from China and other Asian countries (well, a lot of people from Spanish speaking places as well). Some are first or second or third generation, etc.  I love Panda Express Orange flavored chicken.  Okay, what does that have to do with anything?  Well, the next time you eat Chinese food, perhaps you will remember to think about (and if you are a Christian -- to pray about) China.  That includes if you are of Chinese descent yourself!

I hope that Chen will be able to come to the U.S. to study, but more importantly I hope that he will be able to hear the Gospel.

If you speak Mandarin, Chinese, please check out this site: http://www.joshuaproject.net/languages.php?rol3=cmn

For more info. about China, here are some websites you may want to look at:

• http://www.persecution.com/public/newsroom.aspx?story_ID=MzY0
• http://www.epm.org/resources/2010/Mar/29/there-still-persecution-christians-china-today/
• http://www.operationworld.org/chna#prayer
• http://www.chinaaid.org/
• http://www.christianpost.com/news/frank-wolf-church-americans-quiet-on-rising-persecution-60184/

Fathomless Love

I enjoyed seeing the lyrics of this song recently, and I thought the tune was pretty good as well. We are so undeserving of God's love.  Jesus sacrificed a lot to come and die for those who would believe even while they were still His enemies.  It's so easy for me to take His love and death for sin for granted.  I realize just what a sinner I am at times, even though many times I want to shove that from my mind.

It's so easy for me to think how I haven't sinned like someone else, but I know my mind and my heart.  I am really no better, and it distresses me when I think about how awful I really am in my heart.   It is good for me to avoid the sins that distress me in others, but I also need to focus on battling the sin inside of me. 

I think most people can relate to these sins that rear their ugly heads in our lives: anger, lust, unbelief, hardness of heart, being unloving, anxiety, fear, impatience, coveting and feeling sorry for ourselves.



This Fathomless Love from jeronemo on GodTube.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 NASB