Glorify His Name!

“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ!” (2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12 NIV)

I cannot imagine what was going on in Thessalonica when Paul wrote this second letter to the church there. From what he says, I know the Believers were being persecuted and treated unjustly and he was encouraging them to remain faithful to God. In the first part of this passage of scripture, we see Paul remind them that the evil ones–those who don’t know God or obey will be punished and on the day Christ returns, He will be glorified in His Holy people who believed Him because of the testimony of others.

Now, that they have believed, Paul tells them they are constantly praying for them that God may make them worthy (we cannot make ourselves worthy of His calling) and that they will allow His power to bring to pass every good thing they desire and do. Why? Not for them to glorified–lifted up and praised, but so God will be lifted up and praised–and His name–glorified.

Notice that Paul tells them by God’s power–He will bring every good desire and deed to fruition–so He’ll get the glory. One of the things that irritates me the most is watching award shows where the winners “give God honor” for what they have achieved, but their deeds–whether in a movie or in music–did nothing to glorify God and everything to glorify Satan. Do they think that God is fooled or deceived by them winning an award for their portrayals of godlessness–on screen or in the music? Seriously?

Does God get any glory or honor in obscenities, profanities, pornography, or sexual promiscuity? Is He entertained by, Modern Family, Nashville, Gray’s Anatomy, Empire, Scandal, The Haves and Have Nots,  or the other shows where wives are sleeping around with other men and women or children being sexually active? Why must sex be used to glorify the devil when God intended it to be used to glorify Him through the production and continuity of the human race through marriage (His standards)? And the saddest part is that so many Christians are caught up in watching all the filth and the pastors are dismissing services early so their congregations can keep up with the latest godlessness.

It is because of all the godlessness portrayed on television that I have opted out–there is nothing worthwhile except perhaps the weather and traffic reports on local stations. No matter what program a person attempts to watch–they are bombarded with fornication, homosexuality, and all types of perversity.

Reading and writing have become my modes of entertainment–I read to learn and write to inspire, motivate and educate. With all I do, I proclaim the name of Jesus so He is glorified and not me. Not that I can make me worthy of the calling on my life to proclaim the Gospel, but because He strengthens me daily to do all I can to make sure others know just how good He is.

God is not deceived by anything we see that dishonors Him nor is He fooled by anyone proclaiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and yet lives like the unsaved world and promotes ungodliness. People who think He is deceived have been deceived, by the great deceiver.

With all that we desire in life and all we do–let’s do it to glorify the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and when we do–He will bring all we desire to pass as a testimony to His goodness so others will also believe. 

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Running Wild!

“When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.” (Proverbs 29:18 NLT)

How many times do we have to see the actions of rebellious children to  know that somewhere along the way, they chose to ignore instruction and guidance or were never given any?

The children who are running wild, skip school, join gangs, and prefer getting high on drugs more than paying attention to good advice. When they drop-out of school, they are angry and rebellious and think life has treated them unfairly when in all reality, they end up where they do because of poor choices and willful ignorance of guidelines and rules.

How many times must a person ignore traffic laws to understand that ignoring them will bring about unwanted tickets and fines and eventually the loss of privilege to drive?

What’s amazing to me is the “anger and rebellion” often exhibited by those who blatantly ignore traffic laws. They drive under the influence of alcohol, after repeated DUIs. They don’t slow down after repeatedly getting tickets for speeding. They drive with suspended or revoked licenses and get angry when they are arrested. These are the “adults” who are running wild.

Realistically, those who never understand the importance of obedience as children, seldom get it as an adult. They view their consequences as just part of their unfair life, rather than accepting responsibility for their behavior and disobedience.

The same is true for all who ignore “divine guidance” from God–people end up in ruts and pits they cannot dig themselves out and blame everyone but themselves.

This country–right now–is running wild–very few are listening for divine guidance and we can see the results in every aspect of our society.  Without regulations for the airways, we are bombarded with all manner of immorality on prime-time television, cable, and even the cartoons and so-called–teen shows. Drugs are legal, but the bible is not. Sexual immorality is touted as “normal” but agreeing with God is touted as being “hateful.”

We are a nation–running amuk–without divine guidance and yet the same people who are responsible for the chaos are blinded to their role in the decadence of morality because they are afraid of what people think, “being insensitive” and have a greater desire to be “politically correct” than Godly righteous. Their desire is to please man and weak, fleshly desires, rather than to please God who holds the future of all mankind.

But we must understand the carnal mind (fleshly desires) is in opposition to the Spirit of God and cannot understand the benefits of living a Godly life before man and God.

Divine guidance is as close as your Relationship with God and in His Word. The choice is ours–are we running wild or heeding divine guidance and knowing the joy of doing so?

Hollywood’s Harvest!

“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” (Galatians 6:7,8 NLT)

My daughter recently got upset over the fact that there was nothing on television worth watching on a Thursday night–she was so disgusted that she started using the hastag #justunplug. Now, she’s thinking about starting a crusade against all the “junk” on television and of course, I’ll join her.

What junk? All of the shows that revel in revealing all manner of sexual promiscuity—Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Modern Family, all the soap operas (left), the seamy reality shows that are not real at all and many, many more. With all of this junk on television (with no real story-lines or plots, just a promotion of ungodly behavior), why are we amazed at the moral decay we see on a regular basis in our homes and communities?

Teens are “exploring” their sexuality because of the junk they see on television and then everyone is complaining about the rise in sexually transmitted diseases. But then–we celebrate teen-motherhood by promoting people–specifically Bristol Palin–as a “star” simply because she had a baby as a teenager! What is this world coming to–the pathway of destruction and we will all reap the harvest planted by Hollywood.

Toddlers and pre-schoolers (encouraged by their godless parents and psychologists) are claiming to want to be another gender and the world is standing by applauding because the babies and their parents are riding into the limelight on television.

We glorify same-sex relationships and demonize anyone who opposes them and because Believers won’t take a firm stand on Gods Word–the opposition’s harvest is abundantly covering the planet. Hollywood would not be so successful if they did not have willing, demoralized people–waiting with baited breath to see what else they (Hollywood) can do to take us further into degradation.

And the other junk that has absolutely mesmerized people--werewolves, vampires, and walking dead (now there’s an oxymoron). We have truly become a universe of walking dead–dead to the leading of the Holy Spirit and anything remotely promoting Godly living. We sit back and complain and criticize all the young people who get caught in drugs, sexual promiscuity, deadly games to get attention, wife-swapping (like that’s supposed to be normal) and raising children in environments that are not conducive to “norms” and yet we get upset when they act out what they see on television.

Hollywood–its writers and producers and directors–will have to stand before the Lord one day, just as we will and give an account of their actions. The only way we will ever see a change in what we see on the news is to “unplug” from the decadent godlessness we see on television and in the movies, and “plug” into The Word and allow Holy Spirit to lead us back to a path of righteousness. If we, as Believers, won’t stand up for what is right, we will all reap from the harvest of decay that Hollywood has planted!

Father, create us in a renewed spirit and mind to want to serve You in all Godliness, setting aside any desire to promote Satan’s agenda. Lead us in tearing down the harvest of decay and planting the seeds of righteousness so the world will indeed become a better place. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!

Beginning To Understand!

Trying to find something worthwhile on television these days is an exercise in futility, unless a person likes watching people being killed, autopsied, betrayals, conspiracies, no integrity, and celebrations of sin.  I’m beginning to understand why many older citizens prefer not to watch television at all. These shows are really debilitating to the spirit.

Reality shows that have no basis whatever in “reality.”

Sex, adultery, backstabbing, mothers sleeping with daughter’s husbands and boyfriends. Fathers sleeping with anyone they can get their hands on.

New murders, old murders, incest, rape, ridicule of real life situations by writers intent on keeping wounds bleeding.

Women exposed for their inability to know who their baby’s father is.

Young people thinking it’s okay to sleep with as many people as possible and teenage parenting celebrated on television.

Celebrities and their offspring get national attention for being vulgar and undisciplined with their use of drugs and alcohol, and many sit glued to a television set, just waiting for the next episode of the stupid and inane, watching their parents applaud their lewdness.

Is there one program on television that is truly geared for viewing by families with morals and values that are based on a wholesome relationship with God (not televangelism)? Now, if the one program is found, is it on local networks or cable? Does a person have to watch the same show over and over again or is there any variety available?

I’m beginning to understand that our society has become so amoral that we need to re-define morals and values.  In the midst of all this “ungodliness” portrayed on television, is there any wonder that many people don’t understand that not having a relationship with God is the reason we’re at this crossroad?  On the television, for all to see, we celebrate the worthlessness (as they see it) of life by repeatedly showing kids how to steal, kill, and destroy.  We teach them to not value their bodies or the bodies of others. Where is the outrage? Do the writers of these shows care? Do they have children of their own?  Do the actors allow their children to watch the smutty shows in which they perform?

I’m beginning to understand and pray others do as well.  It’s time to make a change, but will we do it or just complain?

Lord, help us to not invite the spirit of evil into our minds by what we watch on television, in the movies, and listen to on radios. Help us to maintain our focus on You and in doing good for all people.

Hooray Grammy Decision-Makers

Kudos for those making an appropriate decision about the apparel of those participating in the Grammy Awards!  It’s about time someone took responsibility for bringing back some sense of “taste, class, and grace” in fashion appearing on national television.