Category Archives: Apologetics

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Living Like We’re Dying…

Hello World,

No one ever wants to think about dying…But over the last several months, I have been forced to consider the reality that we all must die someday…and many of us will leave this earth sooner than we prepared for and or expected…I truly began considering the ugly reality of death when my beloved Delta line sister Lola passed away in October…Since then, I have thought of her constantly…I wonder what actions she took to prepare herself for her transition, how her family is coping since that devastating day and how we will continue to live here on earth without her…

I was forced to think about the temporal life most of us lead on New Year’s Eve when the pastor preached on Romans 13:11-14….

11 Another reason for right living is this: you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of the Lord is nearer now than when we first believed.

12-13 The night is far gone, the day of his return[a] will soon be here. So quit the evil deeds of darkness and put on the armor of right living, as we who live in the daylight should! Be decent and true in everything you do so that all can approve your behavior. Don’t spend your time in wild parties and getting drunk or in adultery and lust or fighting or jealousy.

14 But ask the Lord Jesus Christ to help you live as you should, and don’t make plans to enjoy evil.

Although I am a Christian, Lord help me, I can get so caught up in what I need to do today, this week, this month, this year and on and on…as if I have a eternal to-do list never factoring in that one day Jesus Christ will return and it may sooner than I expect…I’ve even thought I hope Jesus Christ returns to earth after I die because I’ve got things I want to do, see and be…how disgustingly worldly is that?

And since the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on March 8, I, among many across the world have been theorizing just what could have happened…I posted on my Facebook a few days later that my best theory was the plane had been raptured…I was sort of kidding…And I got several responses to that post…However, considering the verses above, we have to able to discern what is going on around us and be sensitive to God what is doing…

So this morning, I am wondering are if we living are like we’re dying…because the truth is, we are dying a little bit each day…Below are a few questions to determine if we are living like we’re dying…

  • What are we doing regularly for the Lord? I have dedicated my writing talent to the Lord because He gave it to me anyway…But outside of that, the Lord has been prompting me to not just write about Him but to speak about Him as well…I must confess talking about Jesus is so scary to me because I don’t want to others to think I’m a religious nut or just plain weird…but I have committed myself this year to being all about Jesus in “word and deed.”
  • Are we paying attention? It is easy to get caught up in what is going with our individual lives or the lives of our friends and loved ones that we don’t pay attention to what is going in the world…This is a huge problem for me…I’m not a hard news person…I have to force myself to pay attention to politics and world affairs (when I would rather be watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta or other ratchetness) because I know that the more I pay attention to politics and world affairs, the better chance I have of discerning what God is doing…I’m not talking about hocus pocus…I’m talking or rather writing about the signs of the times…
  • Do we have a personal relationship with the Lord? Many people are churchgoers but knowing the Lord in a personal way is a different matter altogether…My personal relationship with the Lord is the supreme guiding principal and principle in my life..One way that I know I am personally acquainted with the Lord is that I hear His voice regularly… And God speaks to me in various ways, sometimes I get an overwhelming feeling of peace when I’ve heard bad news that lets me know that despite what I’ve heard, everything will be fine…Other times, I know He is speaking to me when I hear someone say the exact words I needed to hear…Sometimes, I come across a book that entirely shifts my thinking…it’s been amazing to hear God in so many ways throughout my Christian journey…

What are some other questions we may need to ask ourselves to determine that we are living like we’re dying?

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

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A Godless Church?

Hello World,

I must confess…I am somewhat fascinated by atheists…the idea that there are people out there who believe this magnificent Earth despite all of the ugliness from war to sickness to downright stupidity just appeared without God is just incomprehensible…

Every now and then, I come across an atheist, and I am always unsure of what to say…I’m not a master in apologetics, and I should certainly study apologetics more I always feel when I find myself in these uncomfortable encounters…But at the end of the day, a belief in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is an act of faith…And of course, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” At at 40 years old, I’ve “seen” God work in my life so much so that I will continue to hold on in my belief in Him until I die so help me God…

But apparently, there is a growing initiative to create godless churches…Here is one article I found about a former Methodist minister who is now a “godless” church planter…

“From Pastor to Harvard’s ‘godless church’ Planter”…below are a few interesting excerpts of an interview with Teresa MacBain…

I was raised in the Deep South where my dad was a Baptist pastor. I always felt my calling was to be in ministry but the Baptist church didn’t allow women pastors. As I moved through my young adulthood, my theology became more liberal leading me into the Methodist church where I became a pastor. I’d always been a thinker so when questions relating to my faith began to pop up, I ignored them at first. You see, questioning and doubts were sinful in my faith tradition…

An enormous number of Christians have threatened to do physical harm to me. Many others have been kind in their response. They don’t understand and of course, they offer to pray for me. Some atheists have disagreed with me. I’ve heard comments like “I’ll give you a year but this won’t stick.” But overall the Christian response has been much worse than the feedback I got from the “angry atheists.”

We need to work with language. Some like the Sunday Assembly are calling these “atheist churches.” Some who have been burned by religion but are looking for community want to reclaim the word “church.” For others even a liberal church like the Unitarian Universalists will not meet their needs. For this reason, we’re using the term “Humanist community.”

So what do you think? What do you when you encounter atheists? Why do you believe in God?

Any thoughts?

P.S. I am always very respectful of people I encounter who don’t believe as I believe because I think it’s the Christian thing to do…

 

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Five Preachers Called Out at Magic City Strip Club!

Hello World,

Did my headline get your attention? If you came of age in the ’90s, you have probably heard several rappers praise “Magic City” strip club in the A…In fact, I believe that the A, unfortunately, is on the go-to destinations for the best strip clubs…Maybe that’s why Rev. Miller Kingston grabbed four of his preacher buddies and headed to “Magic City.” LOL…Actually, that’s not true…

According to Americapreachers.com, Kingston and his fellow preachers went there to witness…

“Rev. Miller Kingston, who is originally from Tampa, Florida said, “When I relocated here, I couldn’t believe how many preachers frequently visit strip clubs for pleasure.”

Rev. Kingston is known throughout the Tampa, Florida area as the “stripper preacher” because he visits area strip clubs frequently passing out biblical material to whoever is receptive.

He claims he wanted to bring his same habits from Tampa to Atlanta because no one else is ministering in the area strip clubs.”

According to the article, when security realized what he was doing, they threw him and his fellow preachers out but not before “leaving his 1000 Jesus flyers in the men’s room!”

So my question for today is when is the last time you were bold for the Lord and witnessed outside of your comfort zone? I must admit it’s been way too long for me…I’ve got to think about that…

Also, do you think it was appropriate for the men of God to be in the strip club at all?

Any thoughts?