The Martyr’s Oath

August 9, 2010 By nick 3 Comments

Could You Sign This?

Saturday I went to the Fight Club X Conference put on by the Acts 29 Network. The opening speaker was Dr. Samuel Thomas, President of Hopegivers International, an organization that rescues orphans and at-risk children in India and provides food, shelter, education and training to share the Gospel throughout the country. Dr. Thomas shared how when a new missionary is trained, before sending them out into the field to share the Gospel, the missionary must sign a Martyrs Oath.

In America we are very familiar with signing “Membership Covenants” and the like within the church. We often make shallow commitments and then when that which we committed to interferes with our schedules or our comfort we face new struggles of how to back out of that which we have committed to. When I hear the stories shared by Dr. Thomas, it makes me realize that we rarely have to live out Scripture to its fullest, therefore we put our own idea or context to it’s meaning (usually tainted by American ideals).

Check out the Martyr’s Oath below, you can download your own PDF copy as well:

  • I stand with the Apostle Paul in stating that “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
  • I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus Christ with my hands to serve all mankind.
  • I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus Christ with my feet to spread the gospel to all the ends of the earth no matter what the cost.
  • I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus Christ with my lips by proclaiming the Good News to all who hear and by edifying the body of Christ.
  • I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus Christ with my mind as I meditate upon His Word and His promises to me.
  • I give my earthly treasures and all that I possess to follow the way of the cross. ➵ I commit to love my family, orphans, widows, lepers, the wealthy and the poor the way that Christ loved the Church.
  • I surrender my will and life to His will and life.
  • I commit to the service of the Lord by being a good steward of my time.
  • I surrender this body on earth to the perfect will of Jesus and should my blood be spilled may it bring forth a mighty harvest of souls.
  • I pledge allegiance to the Lamb. I will seek to honor His command. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.
  • Lord Jesus, Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ➵ I love my nation and my fellow citizens and I claim my nation for Christ.

I have read this pledge and understood it completely. Being of sound mind and body, I do solemnly declare this martyr’s pledge without any persuasion of enticement.

I, _____________________, from ______________________ (Place of Birth)  do hereby make the following covenant on this __________ day of _________ in the year ___________.

So, could you sign it? Would you mean it?

We probably wouldn’t know unless we actually lived in a place like India, where our lives were truly threatened.

P.S. Dr. Samuel Thomas has had 19 Assassination attempts on his life (perspective)!

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Ignorance in Action

March 22, 2010 By nick 1 Comment

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

constitutionI’m not one to shy away from a debate on politics. I never let politics trump my faith and the Gospel, and I never use my platform as a pastor to share my view on politics or to try and push legislation towards my view. I will however, when given the opportunity or when a discussion is taking place, share my view on given subjects.

As we all know, the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate Health Care Reform Bill last night. As I was surfing around on Twitter, I engaged in a few late night discussions on the topic, and then a few more this morning. I follow a lot of Christians on Twitter, and remarkably, I saw several diverse responses to the passage of the bill. Some point to Jesus and his teaching to care for the poor and the sick, while some others argue away the increase in taxes on the top wage earners in America to pay for it all, and then there are those who argue, that this is a bad rout to take as a Country for a list of reasons. I’ll reserve my thoughts for a potential future post…I’m not sure that I want to go there right now :)

Here’s what has provoked this post, because this issue in itself is, in my opinion, becoming a bigger and bigger problem among American Christians. I’ve seen A LOT of people either in a straightforward way or in a suggestive manner say that we as Christians need to just accept this new law, because Romans 13 tells us to (paraphrased) “Submit to authority because all authority is from God…to rebel against authority is to rebel against God.” This suggestion and view of Scripture makes me shrill as if someone were taking their fingernails and running them down a chalkboard, here’s a couple of reasons why:

1. It reveals an ignorance about the foundations of our country: The United States of America is a Democracy in the form of a Representative Republic. Our authority is a document known as the Constitution. It is Government for the people, by the people. Our Senators, our Congresspeople, our Supreme Court Judges, and our President are NOT our authority. We are their authority. They are not to dictate rules and regulations to the people, rather they are to represent and enforce the will of the people and defend the authority of the land, the Constitution. We do not serve them, they serve us. Our American tradition is to give them honor and respect, but that should not be mistaken with authority. Our country is not a dictatorship.

2. It reveals an ignorance about the beginning of our country: To suggest that it is a sin or somehow against Romans 13 to speak out against a law that has been passed or to just “accept” what “is”, is to imply that the entire founding of our country was founded in sin. Our forefathers should have never picked up a rifle (they should have been content with oppression), the Pilgrims should have never boarded the first ship to flee persecution (they should have just accepted it), and we should all be speaking in a British tongue today (Because America would not be America). Who knows, maybe that is how you feel?

Romans 13 was instructed in a totally different political system than America. Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised that people are interpreting it based on an American lifestyle and political system? America seems to be the filter in which we interpret the Bible many times. Romans 13 is definitely applicable in many situations, but not in this situation or in any debate concerning the laws of this land, it is up to our debate and our wills to form those laws. If the Democrats truly went against what the people said they wanted, and what polls said they wanted, it would not be the people ignoring Romans 13, it would be the politicians. There has been a huge movement in recent years for some people within Christianity to silence other Christians from sharing their political views. They complain “Christians are too political” – Yet, they will turn and loudly share their opposing viewpoint as they shame others into silence. We as Christian Americans have just as much voice as any other citizen, in fact it is our responsibility as citizens to be political, whether that voice is Independent, Liberal, or Conservative, we must share that voice with the character of Christ. That does not mean to sit back, accept what “is” and be silent. It means to stand up for what you believe in, while representing Christ well.

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I Support Miss California Carrie Prejean

April 22, 2009 By nick 15 Comments

miss-california…And so should every American, whether you are gay, straight, white, black, asian, or indian, etc…

Miss. California, Carrie Prejean, was asked for her view regarding gay marriage, and if Vermont’s legalizing it should be followed by all other states in the US. What good is asking a question if you don’t want to know a person’s answer? And what good is it to seek a person’s opinion, if you really don’t want an opinion besides your own? Apparently, the judges at the Miss. USA pageant were looking for ‘Yes people’ and conformists, not people who are true to their values, principles, and beliefs.

Everyone who lives under the banner of the Red, White, and Blue has not only the freedom of speech, but the freedom of opinion. Just as a gay American who wants to speak out and express their opinion about being granted the ability to marry should not be demonized and attacked for their views, Carrie should be granted the same rights and freedoms. Our culture touts the banner of tolerance and then has the nerve to point the finger at the Christian church and call them hypocrites when one of its leaders or members fall in the public eye, due to their mere humanity. Yet, those carrying the banner of tolerance are the biggest hypocrites when it comes to being tolerant for issues that aren’t their own. If we are going to point a finger at all of the hypocrites its not a one way street. Trust me we are all hypocirtes in one form or fashion, but some want to make their hypocrisy less than others.

Equal, Really?

Gay rights activists are yelling for “Equal Rights” as if a hospital won’t treat them because they are gay or as if they cannot buy a car because they are gay. That’s totally wrong. Every American is given the same rights despite their sexual orientation. However, Miss. California was not given equal rights, an equal platform, or an equal opportunity. Carrie Prejean, had an equal opportunity to win up until controversial blogger and judge Perez Hilton asked the now famous question about Gay Marriage. Though Perez does not have to reveal his score for that question, he clearly stated that “The way miss California answered her question lost her the crown, without a doubt!” Perez also called Carrie a dumb Bi*** and the C-word. We’ll get to Mr. Perez a little more shortly…Shanna Moakler, the director of the Miss. California pageant, and rumored friend of Carrie Prejean, not only snubbed her “friend” after the show, but vented her frustration on Twitter, her Myspace page, and through public statements. She tweeted,”  This is why we have judges at Miss USA, so we find the girl to rep us ALL,” – I’ll get back to that statement as well, Shanna also said, “I don’t know how you can call a gay man or woman your friend and not want them 2 have the same joys as yourself. In my family we believe in equal rights for all, I am sad and hurt, I agree with Perez 100 [percent]. It’s one thing to have an opinion I am very opinionated n have dealt with backlash from it, it’s another to alienate people who cared about u.”

So it’s okay for gay American’s to yell their opinions for “equal rights” and we’ve all seen their protests in favor of gay marriage as well as in opposition of proposition 8. They can spew their venom against the protestant church, the Catholic church, and the Mormon church, they can call us hatemongers and bigots, and resort to personal attacks, but one young lady cannot answer a question honestly and politely without being attacked and demonized. I think people in Hollywood and in the media need to look up the definition of equal.

Perez Hilton

I just have to ask…Why is the Miss. USA pageant allowing someone like Perez Hilton to serve as a judge? Have you read his blog? He is highly controversial, he is offensive, he is derogatory, and very crude towards people he does not like. Hey Shanna, does Perez represent us ALL? No, he does not. Does he even represent the best of America? No, he does not. I could care less whether he is gay, Latino, or whatever other title he wants to give himself. He is a horrible selection as a judge.

Since when are pageant judges supposed to leave the panel from the show and call the contestants, “dumb bi***” the c-word and then go attack their family? It’s a disgrace and the Miss. USA pageant should be more embarrassed for having put him in the spotlight than for one of their contestants to answer a question honestly and boldly.

You Cannot Represent Us ALL

Dear Shanna, I hate to break it to you but you cannot represent us all, and neither can one single Miss. USA Pageant winner. A single President cannot represent us all. What you have done however is alienate the entire Christian community, you alienated everyone who opposes gay marriage, as well as the gay Americans who oppose it. I mean, really? Do you think ONE person can represent ALL Americans? Do you want ONE person to represent ALL Americans? If so, you are looking for a flaky, spineless, person with no principles and no values. You are looking for someone who will say anything to please anyone, but will contradict themselves to please another crowd. It truly sounds like you are looking for a politician, not an individual. I’d love to know how one person can represent us ALL? How is Miss. North Carolina going to represent us all? Does she support gay marriage? Then she does not represent those of us who oppose it. Does she support allowing illegal immigrants the same rights as American citizens? If she does, she does not represent those of us who oppose it. Does she represent people who participate in illegal dog fighting? How about those who support Prostitution? I’d love to know how you expect to find someone to represent us ALL?

The Problem Is…

Most of the people who represent Hollywood, secularists, the media and the likes are pushing for conformity rather than individuality. People who support the actions that have been levied against Carrie Prejean are not looking for someone who acts based on their own beliefs. Because the people attacking have no backbone, they have no principles, and they have very little values, they want their friends and representatives to cave to their viewpoints as well. The call themselves progressive, non-conformists, rebels if you will, yet they all say the same things, they all believe the same way, and they all form their opinion not on conviction, but rather on the opinions of others around them. If this is not true, why all of the attacks on Carrie? If this is not true, why would Shanna Moakler not stand by her friend, politely say she disagrees and has a different opinion and view and agree to disagree? Rather, she attacked her “friend” through the media and through social networking, she did not stand beside her, and she is allowing her to be a target. That is not a friend, but its the very thing we are seeing in our culture. We are being taught to act in that very manner and to accept that very behavior. Sadly, many of you buy into that until it comes to bite you, because you one day decide to stand up for something. It goes beyond the issue of gay marriage, it seeps into other areas that affect our daily lives and our country. The only opinion you should have is the one they tell you to have. If you vary from that, you are an extremist, a bigot and a racist. In the video at the end of the post, you can hear Perez say that he expected Carrie to be “Prepared” for the question, and then he goes on to give the answer he wanted her to give. Bravo, to Matt Lauer for pressuring Perez on his answer!

The Christian Community

…is the target in this situation. Miss California, Carrie Prejean is just the current symbol that they are using. It’s no different than the political strategies derived from Solinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” where it is taught to “Pick your target, freeze it, personalize it, and then polarize it” in an attempt to destroy it. If you truly believe that this is solely an attack on Carrie, you are sadly mistaken. This is an attack on everyone who believes in the traditional definition and the Biblical definition and blueprint of marriage. It will be a horrible mistake if we decide to sit silently on the sideline and allow her to be targeted, frozen, and polarized in this issue. Moreover, we have an entire generation of young people who are watching and seeing how we as the Christian community respond, or how we do not respond. I’m NOT talking about anything that would come out of the Westboro Baptist Church (I totally disagree with them). We do not have to be militant, hateful, and obnoxious, just because they are. We do represent Christ and the love that He has for all people. Love however does not mean a blank check of support for anything & everything because someone attaches the word “rights” to it. It will however, in my opinion, be a huge mistake to make Carrie stand alone if we agree with her. I believe everyone attacking her is being so polarizing because they know she will not reverse course, but they want to scare anyone else from making the same stance. They want people to be intimidated and to be afraid to be treated in the same manner. Carrie Prejean is solid and she knows what she believes. She is a great picture of what I hope every student I ever worked with becomes. She understands what she believes and why she believes it, and so far, she is not allowing the attacks or the pressure to stop her. It is however a sad day when the likes of Britney Spears and Lyndsey Lohan are the poster children for our young people to model their lives after and young ladies like Carrie are demonized.

Check Carrie Prejean out on the Today Show from Tuesday, April 22, she boldly stands by her answer, Bravo!

Update: For those googling and trying to find Carrie Prejean’s church, you can go to their website HERE. From what I’ve heard she attends The Rock Church in San Diego. I am sure they are extremely proud of Carrie.

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Should America Close the Money Hole?

April 13, 2009 By nick 1 Comment

We Report…You Decide! Haha, okay not really. I apologize upfront for not being able to bleep out the dirty word in the beginning of the video, but this is still worth showing…its great!

Watch and then Join the Conversation “Should America Close the Money Hole?” – Share your thoughts in the comment section! :)

A Special thanks to my sister Jamela for posting this video on Facebook.

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The 10 Cannots and Abraham Lincoln

February 12, 2009 By nick 6 Comments

abraham-lincoln

Today is Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday and many people throughout the country are celebrating our great 16th President. Politicians on both sides of the political aisle love to attribute their party to Lincoln in an attempt to have some of his greatness rub off on them. Lincoln, on today’s political spectrum, would have been considered a Conservative, although Liberals attach themselves to him and praise him because he was responsible for one of the largest increases in the Union. However, much of this was due to Lincoln’s staunch support of the Constitution of the United States, something we rarely hear about, much less see from politicians. Abraham Lincoln believed wholeheartedly “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” He believed that all men’s rights and freedoms were given to them by God, not by Government, a far cry from what we see today. Lincoln’s increase of the Union was to do one thing: ensure that all slaves be free and granted their God-given rights and freedoms, something the Constitution of the United States promises. The Constitution does not promise a Savior Government to provide financial security for individuals or for businesses, only that all men would have equal opportunity and for the physical protection from foreign and domestic enemies and justice for any who takes those freedoms and rights away. I wonder who protects us from the Government who takes those freedoms and rights away?

It is because of Lincoln’s view on limited Government, that some historians believe the “10 Cannots” were attributed to him, based on some of his thoughts, speeches, and ideas. However, others attribute it solely to a flyer that was sent out by a Conservative Group, one side containing a quote by Lincoln, the other the 10 Cannots by William J. H. Boetcker. The author of the 10 Cannots is William Boetcker, a Presbyterian pastor, who was an outspoken Conservative, you can read more on him HERE.

I believe in light of our current political situation, our current economic problems, in honor of Lincoln’s Birthday and his support of limited government, I would post William Boetcker’s 10 Cannot’s for us all to think on today…they are very powerful:

  1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
  2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
  3. You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
  4. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
  5. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
  6. You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
  7. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
  8. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
  9. You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
  10. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

 

William J. H. Boetcker

William J. H. Boetcker

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Thanksgiving Perspective

November 27, 2008 By nick 1 Comment

I grabbed this video from my friend Neely’s site the other day. I saved it for today because I thought it would give a great perspective on Thanksgiving.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZFFxDcSfeA]

America…you are truly blessed. Even if you are considered “poor” or in “extreme poverty” in America, you are rich and have plenty to be thankful for. Beyond the material things that are obvious, today I am thankful for a loving Jesus who gave up everything to love me, to forgive me, and to have a relationship with me. I am thankful for my beautiful, awesome wife and my beautiful and healthy 3 kids. I am thankful for my family, my friends, and life! I am also thankful for living in America and the freedoms that we have, and for our soldiers who put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe and free.

Join the Conversation…What are you thankful for today? Have you been taking it for granted?

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Happy Veteran’s Day

November 11, 2008 By nick 1 Comment

veterans-day

We honor our veterans today for their service and sacrifices for our Country and our freedom. I can never say enough to express my gratitude for all that you have done. As a Country, we don’t say thank you enough! Some of you are still living while others have past away, but you will always be appreciated in my heart.

Thank you!

Join the Conversation: Do you have any veterans in your family or amongst your friends that you would like to thank today?

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Have You Forgotten?

September 11, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

My prayers go out today to the family members of the victims of the tragic attacks that took place on September 11, 2001 in New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. As well, my thoughts and prayers go out to our soldiers overseas who are daily risking their lives and making sacrifices to prevent such an attack from happening to our country again.

I will never forget that day as long as I live. It is amazing that 7 years have passed by already. I was at the office where I worked on the phone with a vendor placing an order for a client when the salesman on the phone paused and told me that a plane just flew into the World Trade Center. We finished our conversation and I went upstairs to my bosses office where we turned on a TV in the conference room and watched the rest of the attacks unfold within the next several minutes. I will never be able to explain the tragic loss I felt that day as I watched my country attacked by a foriegn enemy.

Join the Conversation: Have you forgotten? Where were you when you heard about the attacks on 9/11?

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Young Voters, Please Stop Playing!

July 31, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

I believe that everyone who has the priviledge to vote should. It is one of the greatest responsibilities we have in this country. This article is not a Pro-McCain or a Pro-Obama article, its purpose is not to sway voters to one camp or the other, however I do want to point some foolishness out that is driving me crazy and it has great potential to cause harm to the future of our country for our kids.

It just happens that the biggest group of culprits have outwardly and publically supported Barak Obama. A majority of young voters that I have heard from take our priviledge of voting as a joke, yet they are voting between two candidates who will have a huge opportunity to make policies and to elect judges that will be in place for the next 30+ years. Some of the laws and policies that are put into place may not have an immediate effect on those who are voting in this election cycle, but my kids will definitely benefit from them or suffer because of them in the years to come. When I step into the voting booth I no longer have just myself to think about, but now I have 3 children and a future of grandchildren that will be directly effected by the two candidates that we are voting for in 2008.

So young voter, I urge you, before you vote, please do your homework and take this responsibility serious. Over the last several months and during the primaries I have grown more and more aggravated with what I am hearing, here are a few quotes from young voters:

“I am voting for Barak Obama because he is hot.”
“We are voting for John Edwards because we like his hair.”
“I am voting for Barak Obama because that’s who my parents said they are voting for.”
“Did you hear Barak Obama’s speach? I am voting for him.”

All of these sound like great leadership principles that will benefit our country. Within those thoughts lies the answer, I reckon, to balance the budget so my kids do not have to pay back China for our generation’s debts. I can clearly hear the answer to lowering energy cost in those quotes. Within each of those statements I can hear exactly the kind of Supreme Court Justices the candidates will put on the bench. Don’t you see all of those important policy issues within those statements? It aggrivates me that not one of these voters had children, yet they are playing with my children’s future. These are not 18 year olds by the way, some were as old as 25 and they acted as if they could care less about the process, they just wanted to vote for who was cool. I would give the same criticisms to anyone voting for John McCain for some of the same foolish reasons, so far I have not heard statements as ridiculous, maybe its because he is not attracting a lot of younger voters who think in these terms?

“Sean Hannity did a “Man on the Street” Session not too long ago. Now regardless of your thoughts on Hannity, there is one thing for certain, he asks fair questions to perfect strangers about who they are voting for and why they are voting for that candidate during the “man on the street sessions.” One young lady said she was voting for Barak Obama, when she was asked what she knew about him, she knew nothing. When asked what she personally believed in and thought were important policies for our country, she named 1. Lower taxes 2. Victory in Iraq 3. Non-Government controlled Health Care and 4. Smaller government not larger government. Every issue she named was a policy issue for John McCain, yet because her parents were voting for Obama, she thought he held her values. She was 24. She admitted upon getting off the phone she needed to do more homework.”

Hey Young Voter, whether you are a liberal, a centrist, a conservative, or a libertarian…would you do your homework, identify the values you stand for, examine the policies of the candidates and then vote informed? My children and thousands of children around this country are going to live out your votes…essentially your children will too.

Join the Conversation: What do you think about the Young Vote and their Impact, both now and in the future?

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Blog Pirates

July 10, 2008 By nick Leave a Comment

A Blog Pirate: Someone who tries to steal the spotlight from a more successful blog in order to make their blog noticed and to increase their traffic stats.

This is usually done by pointlessly criticizing posts in order to drive traffic to their blog. Most blog pirates surf the “What’s Hot” on the front page of blog hosts (I.E. WordPress.com) hunting their next victim. They also search through the tags pages to see what blogs have the most comments (thus a high level of traffic) and rips into the author of the blog and/or their content. If you have ever crossed a Blog Pirate you will see why they have to steal the spotlight, its usually because their content is not good enough to draw their own crowd and keep them.

Blog Pirates know that most authors will defend their content thus linking to the pirate and driving their readers (traffic) to the pirate’s site, they also know that when people search for key words pertaining to the victim’s blog in Google the searcher will be driven to the pirate’s blog as well, thus attracting extra traffic. Blog Pirates are interested in one thing, signing on to WordPress and immediately going to their daily stats and seeing how many hits they had that day…nothing more, nothing less.

Watch it! You may be hijacked by a Blog Pirate today :)

Join the Conversation! Have you ever been attacked by a Blog Pirate? Know anyone else that has? I’ve been attacked and I know others that have been attacked as well.

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