...and people don't think there is a Holy War coming...

Pictures from a protest march on London.... does this not scare you? Are we supposed to be "tolerant" of such language? In today's world, I guess these kinds of comments are "okay"...See the pattern that is developing? Just look at my last three posts. No I am not some loony (tho my friends say otherwise...LOL). I just see the state of our world becoming more and more unstable and chaotic... scary indeed.

We're already here...

First, look at the post just below about the state of faith and truth in America today. Then look at what God has to say in Roman 1:18-32. Listen to truth. We need to understand that there IS a Truth. That Truth is not relative. That Truth is not fluid and changing depending on the culture or the times or the circumstances. Truth is everlasting and unchanging. If we are not careful, we will stray so far from Truth that we will forget what it looks like. And when we do, we're on own on. Folks, we're here already.

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Listen. Please.

Multiple roads to the same (eternal) destination? Nope.

I am sorry. But to me, this is just sad. I know to most people in our culture this is a win - "religious tolerance" they say. I say it is a sign of a sinful world warping The Truth to the point that such consciousness is seeping into our churches, our faith. I truly believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. And in John 14:6, God clearly tells us the one way to salvation:

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Living a good life is a wonderful goal. Giving to charities is nice and commendable. Being nice and considerate to others is great. But none of this leads to Heaven. Faith in God and belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was sent to earth to die for our sins as an atonement sacrifice - the perfect lamb - is the only way to salvation and Heaven. All of these other things SHOULD happen as a result of our faith and acceptance of Jesus Christ - an outgrowth of our faith - but do not in themselves constitute faith and a "ticket to Heaven."

The reason why the Body of Christ is becoming less relevant in our culture - indeed being overtaken by our culture - is because we are buying into Pluralism (i.e., multiple sources and routes of salvation, religious "tolerance"), buying into Secular Humanism (i.e., to each his own, if it feels good do it, etc.), buying into Moral Relativism (i.e., there is no "truth", truth is relative to the individual and circumstance) within our own faiths and churches. Why do you think that those that profess a faith and are regular church attenders look NO DIFFERENT from people without a faith. Divorce rates, infidelity, and so on are just as rampant in the church as out of the church. It is because we have bought into the secular worldview. This is in direct contradiction to what our faith is SUPPOSED to teach us (see II Corinthians 5:17):

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come!

Of course Christians are not perfect - we make the same mistakes as others because we (all) are sinful creatures. However, we ARE expected to repent of our sins and TRY to live as Christ-like a life as possible. We are to love everyone, care for everyone, be concerned for everyone. But that does not mean we are to be the SAME as everyone. God clearly teaches us this, prepares us for a time like this, warns us of a time like this... Check out Colossians 2:8:

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

...or even Colossians 2:20:

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules...

So, are we in moral decline in this world? Absolutely. Are people's faith being warped by our culture? Yes. Are we standing in the gap to fight against the teachings of this culture? NO!

Wake up people.

Another IM conversation... condensed.

Our house in summer...

Headgamer says:
hope your day ends up not as hectic as usual...

FPA_Kelly says:
right........printing yard sale signs, rummaging through the house/attic for more stuff, frantically printing out yet MORE bills for [patients] who need them immediately.......typical day for me.

Headgamer says:
I know

FPA_Kelly says:
In addition to reading over my TURN curriculum for next week during which I will be teaching PreK again and the curriculum/games are geared for 3-5th graders, so I've got some work to do there too. As well as trying to get a packing list going for Oklahoma. But amongst all of this, I'm just sitting around eating bonbons and watching Oprah.

Headgamer says:
What's on Oprah today? LOL

FPA_Kelly says:
Obama.

Headgamer says:
And Tom Cruise.

Headgamer says:
You truly amaze me sometimes with everything you can do...

FPA_Kelly says:
yeah, but half-a$. nothing is done well.

Headgamer says:
I know you are busier than I am right now so I will leave you alone...

FPA_Kelly says:
you have no idea.

Headgamer says:
no I don't.

FPA_Kelly says:
I've got to have some doors on my office. Mitchell comes in screaming while I'm on the phone and I have to run to the bathroom and try to talk. Then he bangs on the door....it's horrible!!!!!!!!

Headgamer says:
that may be my project while y'all are gone...

FPA_Kelly says:
This is nothing new. He always does it. Sometimes I have to just hang up and try again later.

FPA_Kelly says:
I can get no work out of the boys lately. We need to talk about another plan because the chore chart is not working. I just told Luke that it saddened me that they weren't going to get to do anything this summer because they were not making any money off their chores.

Headgamer says:
yeah I was thinking the same thing

FPA_Kelly says:
He goes, "We're about to." I go, "About to what?" "Make a bunch of money. In the yard sale."

Headgamer says:
they are going to be SO disappointed with that whole thing.

Headgamer says:
ok... so do they leave the house to play without doing their stuff?

FPA_Kelly says:
well that's the thing. they don't really have stuff to do. do they put their dishes away, yes, do they feed the dogs, yes, do they brush their teeth, yes. They forfeit the reading sometimes to play instead. The TV is not on, connor's DS is put away, they just play outside, which is good. It's just that the bathroom is always trashed, their personal items are all over the place. I am literally either glued into this chair or at my little corner in the kitchen. I never go anywhere else or do anything else. It's pitiful, actually. I can't monitor them fully.

FPA_Kelly says:
I am always making koolaid, spaghettio's, PB sandwiches, etc.

FPA_Kelly says:
putting the password on Mitch's computer constantly because it keeps feezing up and he needs it rebooted.

Headgamer says:
maybe I take the password off?

FPA_Kelly says:
no.

FPA_Kelly says:
between the ever-changing schedule I have to stay on top of, the children always asking for stuff........by the way I just headed off Connor with a butcher knife going outside.

FPA_Kelly says:
Said he had a great idea!

Headgamer says:
oh my gosh

FPA_Kelly says:
Cutting up a cardboard box, taping pieces together....something about making a sign for the street and this infamous yard sale that is going to make them billionaires.

FPA_Kelly says:
It's this kind of stuff, Sean. You have absolutely no idea the minute-to-minute issues that need attention.

Headgamer says:
no I don't.

FPA_Kelly says:
It's not like in the evening when it's just "get your shower, brush your teeth, go to bed"

FPA_Kelly says:
The come in a dozen times and go, "Mom, do you have any tape?"

FPA_Kelly says:
I go, "You guys sniff out any tape I ever buy for this house and then don't put anything away. If there is tape, you have it."

FPA_Kelly says:
"Mom, do you have a Sharpee marker?"

FPA_Kelly says:
"No, remember, you have all the Sharpee markers."

FPA_Kelly says:
"Where did I put them?"

FPA_Kelly says:
Connor was outside in his church shoes, no socks and shorts earlier becuase he was too lazy to look for the last place he put other shoes.

FPA_Kelly says:
They don't care about anything except the current moment in time. They do not see the importance of anything else.

Headgamer says:
I know...

FPA_Kelly says:
I don't know why they keep asking for these items that I have nothing to do with. I tell them the same thing............oh, Connor just came in again asking if he could 1)spray paint the top of a purple bin, and 2) use the saw to cut the big piece of wood in our garage?

FPA_Kelly says:
He's still coming in looking around and begging for some kind of signage at the end of our street. Still wants to spray paint the easel, a giant top of something.........

Headgamer says:
good grief.

FPA_Kelly says:
I gave him a piece green posterboard and he said he was going to spray paint letters on it. I told him that would be a mess and that I would print him out some letters. he said no, he was just going to write on it with a Sharpee. I told him...........he's back.

Headgamer says:
CRAP!!

FPA_Kelly says:
I told him his writing is not very good, but he insisted.

FPA_Kelly says:
I'm telling you, it's constant.

FPA_Kelly says:
Constant in and out, constant

FPA_Kelly says:
'Mom can I"

FPA_Kelly says:
Mom do you,

FPA_Kelly says:
mom where is.

FPA_Kelly says:
I want to run away or do something I love but i have no where to go and nothing i love anymore.

Headgamer says:
I have to admit mom used to say the same about me during the summer... in...out...in...out... would tell me outside and stay outside... give me a pitcher of water and lock the door.

FPA_Kelly says:
In the meantime, I have to adapt some VBS curriculum, plan a birthday party for an indetermined amount of guests I keep waiting to get from you, and pack in my head for Oklahoma.

FPA_Kelly says:
you are going to your meeting at church and you are taking the kids to church and registering them for TURN while you are there.

FPA_Kelly says:
I will stay in my prison because that is all I know how to do anymore.

FPA_Kelly says:
I'm not throwing myself a pity party, it's a fact.

FPA_Kelly says:
OK, so you were in and out during the summer. I bet it wasn't every 10-15 seconds because I've got 2 boys doing it, not one. And I bet you didn't come in to ask her a ton of questions and try to cut your arm off with a knife or saw. Or rummage around in every stinkin drawer in the house looking for must one more scrap of tape or paper somewhere.

FPA_Kelly says:
I gotta go, Mitch is in freak out mode about a toy.


This is how it goes in our house year-round, but especially through the summer. Kelly has so many spinning plates in the air it is unbearable at times. Pray for perseverance and patience and energy for her... pray for growth in consideration and responsibility for the boys to help her out or at least not hinder her... and pray for being more proactive in helping her out for me...