• Is it my marriage?
• Is it my kids?
• Is it my job, my education, my future, my career, my skills, my money?

What does God want from me?

God wants me!

That is all. God wants me. For when God has me, everything else will follow – marriage, kids, money, job, future, everything.

I can understand being angry as a parent, and I can understand losing your cool. I have done both as a dad. But what this mother did was horrible. What she said was mean. And the way she snatched the child by the arm was painful.

Our meal was ruined. If another table had been available, we would have moved. Then we overheard her give excuses for her behavior.

Two family members separately came to the child a few minutes later to encourage her. Let me correct that. They came to her rescue to minister to her. It was embarrassing.

The way we treat our kids says a lot about us, doesn’t it?

By Junius P. Long

If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for being in the country illegally …you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If you have to get your parents’ permission to go on a field trip or take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If the only school curriculum allowed to explain how we got here is evolution, but the government stops a $15 million construction project to keep a rare spider from evolving to extinction … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If you have to show identification to board an airplane, cash a check, buy liquor or check out a library book, but not to vote who runs the government … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If the government wants to ban stable, law-abiding citizens from owning gun magazines with more than ten rounds, but gives 20 F-16 fighter jets to the crazy new leaders in Egypt … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If, in the largest city, you can buy two 16-ounce sodas, but not a 24-ounce soda because 24-ounces of a sugary drink might make you fat … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If an 80-year-old woman can be stripped searched by the TSA but a woman in a hijab is only subject to having her neck and head searched … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If your government believes that the best way to eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If a seven year old boy can be thrown out of school for saying his teacher’s “cute,” but hosting a sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If children are forcibly removed from parents who discipline them with spankings while children of addicts are left in filth and drug infested “homes”… you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If hard work and success are met with higher taxes and more government intrusion, while not working is rewarded with EBT cards, WIC checks, Medicaid, subsidized housing and free cell phones … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If the government’s plan for getting people back to work is to incentivize NOT working with 99 weeks of unemployment checks and no requirement to prove they applied but can’t find work … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If being stripped of the ability to defend yourself makes you more “safe” according to the government … you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots.

If you are offended by this article, I’ll bet you voted for the idiots who are running, and ruining our great country.

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:28-29

First, Jesus says COME – that’s how we BECOME A CHRISTIAN

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Note the first three words – COME TO ME.

Jesus gives

• NO QUALIFICATIONS…
• NO EXPECTATIONS…
• NO REQUIREMENTS…

just come to me.

Come as you ARE.

• Come with your TROUBLES.
• Come with your PROBLEMS.
• Come with your HANG-UPS.
• Come with your HURTS.
• Come with your HABITS.

And what will He do? AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.

Second, Jesus says TAKE & LEARN – that’s how we LEARN TO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

A yoke is a bow of wood that unites two animals together. To take His yoke, is to submit to Jesus. It means to humble yourself before Him, and learn to live from Him.

So we are to yoke up with Christ and LEARN FROM HIM…then you will FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

So, are you growing in your faith?

Here are three keys to your taking and learning from Christ:

1. You need time in GOD’S WORD.
2. You need time ALONE WITH GOD.
3. You need time WITH GOD’S PEOPLE IN HIS CHURCH.

The three things do not guarantee spiritual growth, but you cannot grow spiritually without them.

Vonda and I learned early on that our kids were our first priority. We made them our disciples, and it is a joy to watch them grow in their faith.

Mother’s Day was a good day. I now look forward to Father’s Day.

Striving for greatness is contrary to Scripture.  You will not find one scintilla of evidence in the Bible that purports how God’s people should be great.  In fact, you will find just the opposite.

Note John the Baptist’s words from John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  Decreasing is not about greatness; it is about nothingness.

Then, more importantly, you have Jesus’ words to His disciples who were arguing who would be the greatest among them,

“But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.  For even the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:43a-45

Again, if greatness is to be achieved, it would be in being a slave, a servant.  And that is not what I heard from either speaker on the internet.

The very next day, I read this quote about greatness from Charles Spurgeon:

“Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are. When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord.”

We are so full of ourselves, aren’t we?  I know I am.  I am full of pride, envy, greed, jealously, lust and hypocrisy.  Which means, once again I am full of myself.

Additionally, the world screams, “You cannot be nothing.  You must be something.  You must be somebody.  You must do something great.  You must be great.”

BE CONTENT TO BE NOTHING, FOR THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE. 

So, how do we do that?

First, instead of trying to be great, we should BE CONTENT.

Contentment is slippery.  It is elusive.  It evades us.  Contentment is found only in Christ.  One will never find contentment in things or people or places or goals.  Contentment is found only in Christ.  Jesus said,“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy be in you, and that your joy is full” (John 15:11).  Contentment is having the joy of Jesus fill you full.

Next, instead of trying to be great, we should be content TO BE NOTHING.

There is only One who is great.  There is only One who is Someone.  There is only One who is superior, and that is Jesus.  Do not desire to be great.  Desire to be nothing.  Desire to be nothing so that through you others may see Jesus’ greatness.

Finally, instead of trying to be great, we should be content to be nothing, FOR THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE.

We are nothing, aren’t we?  The Bible says, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:10-11).  That is a bleak picture, isn’t it?  When we were lost in our sins we tried to make our name great.  But now that we are saved, we make the name of Jesus great.  Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are.

Did any of you read what he wrote last week? This man nails it.

Our President Blesses Sin; God Help Us

By Ken Hutcherson

Last Friday, April 26th, President Obama became the first sitting president to speak at the National Planned Parenthood Conference. Not only did he speak at this event, but he invoked God’s blessing upon them! No president in our history has had the arrogance to openly endorse the slaughter of our unborn, and atrocities against women. Would the American people have ever endorsed the likes of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Emperor Hirohito, or other mass-murderers as this President has done? And let me mention another genocidal maniac: Dr. Kermit Gosnell of Philadelphia, who ‘surprisingly’ was not mentioned by the President during his speech, despite working under the policy of Planned Parenthood.

Am I making a comparison of our sitting president to these criminals? Sadly, I have to. Gosnell performed uncounted numbers of late trimester murders of babies by means of severing spinal cords, removing limbs, sucking the brains out of their tiny heads, all while the babies were crying, exposed to their new environment outside of their mothers wombs. Do you need a good cry? Consider what this monster did to these babies and their mothers, all in the name of choice and financial gain.

(Might I add, if it’s not a baby, then you’re not pregnant ladies. Why have a panic attack if what is inside you is only an “embryo” or “fetus”? My point is: it is a living being at the point of conception. And abortion is one of the leading mass murderers of Americans today, with our government overtly backing the system.)

Gosnell’s infant holocaust did not stop with the newborn child in his chamber of horrors. He also over-medicated his patients with dangerous drugs that could have caused death to the mothers. He utilized non-sterile instruments, some of them carrying diseases, perforating their wombs, and causing one woman we know of to die. One employee testified saying, “African-American population is big here. So he didn’t mind medicating African-American girls but, if you had a white girl from the suburbs, oh, you’d better not medicate her. You better wait until he talks to her first. He told me, ‘that’s the way of the world, huh?’ and he went back to work”.

Why don’t we all demand from our media an accounting of how many of these women were African-American, Native American, or Hispanic? I can tell you the majority of Gosnell’s victims were African-American babies…but then again that was Planned Parenthood’s intention all along.

In the words of our president, “God bless Planned Parenthood”.

In other news, do any of you believe there is a connection between the Boston Celtic NBA basketball player, Jason Collins, announcing he is gay only 72 hours after President Obama’s speech to Planned Parenthood? The answer is a resounding YES! More proof that Christian views are very much under attack! The enemy has impeccable timing.

Collins is being used as a pawn, in the most dangerous game of Russian roulette for his soul. Have you ever noticed that those who support the gay agenda don’t like Christians in sports, entertainment, or media? They really don’t like us anywhere at all. Let’s take Tim Tebow as a classic example. Tebow was asked to keep his beliefs quietly to himself, while Collins is celebrated for the ‘heroism’ displayed for exposing his off-court activities.

Professional sports teams are now in very serious jeopardy, due in part to the abuse of the word “tolerance”. But really, who is intolerant now? Players may not agree or like having a gay teammate, but they will be so intimidated that they may not say anything. If they do say something based on their moral or biblical beliefs, THEY will be the ones disciplined or kicked off the team. Ask Chris Broussard of ESPN. He simply stated homosexuality (along with other acts) is a sin; the way he was attacked, you would have thought he was the spawn of Satan himself.

I can’t imagine that Collins, standing in the shower after a game, and knowing the vast majority of his teammates are not gay, will go over very well. How about the players standing in the shower with him, knowing that one of their teammates likes other men? Just saying…

This will have the most negative impact on not only the individual teams, but also on the individuals themselves.

The connection between these two stories should be very obvious: they both go directly against God’s Holy Word. After all, God hates hands that shed innocent blood (Prov.617) and is sickened by sodomy (Rom.1:24-27). Unfortunately, our President has chosen to commend rather than condemn these things. These two situations are critically dangerous to our society. Why is the United States of America, and many within the church today, putting God to the test? This is far worse than playing with fire. Last year, President Obama announced that he was drawing a ‘red line’ in the sand against Syria in regards to them using chemical weapons against the Syrian people. That line has been crossed, and once again Obama has done nothing. Planned Parenthood and their poster child, Dr. Kermit Gosnell, long ago crossed the line, exactly like those going public with their sexual preference.

So, like our administration, are we going to sit idle and do nothing?

Would any previous President of the United States have toasted Adolf Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, or King Herod?, or the organization Of course not. Then why do we tolerate it when the media intentionally overlooks the work of Kermit Gosnell? God is watching us my friends. We need to unite now! It’s time for us to draw our own line in the sand, sending a clear message to all who would listen. That message is, we are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, and this is our country. We won’t let it be destroyed by a handful of anti-Christian people. So, if you’re weary of a government that funds infanticide, that champions sodomy, that calls good “evil” and evil “good”, then let’s work together to change things around here. Let’s do something together that we can’t do separately. Let’s see how God wants to use us to change our country as we lock arms together. If you want to be part of this movement, join the Black Robe Brigade here. Let’s move, Black Robe Brigade, and watch God do awesome things.