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I have no riveting story to tell. I have lived a decent, GOD SHELTERED life. No near death experiences, nothing spectacular. Their have
been many incidents in my life where I have been protected by the hand of
God. I'll illustrate one occurrence and then I will press on with this
article. There are a few I'd like to thank that clarified my view on organized
fellowship. Family Worship ( Pensacola , Florida ):
This was first church I have ever felt comfortable in. I was assured that
what I experienced as a youth was un-scriptural. They lovingly showed me the
path to return home to Christ, and I was reunited with the presence of God. I loved the folks at Family Worship, but the majority of the
congregation tended to be against contemporary worship. Harvest Outreach Church ( Pensacola ,
Florida ): I was captivated by the
contemporary worship; the flow of Christ's love was WIDE OPEN there. The
outward focus and the LOVE of this church were AMAZING! The come as you
are atmosphere provided a feeling of belonging. This is where I was baptized,
and thanks to the evangelism and agreement in prayer I overcame my cigarette
addiction. Thank God for fellowship at Harvest! God had answered a prayer for me and gave me turbo charged motivation to
focus on the restoration of my home. I over did it and focused too much.
It monopolized all of my time. I drifted from fellowship for about 9 months. Christian Life Church ( Milton ,
Florida ): This is my present place of
fellowship and worship. I wanted a church closer to home where I could serve
the Lord more effectively. I look forward to the blessings that I know will
flow from this church. I am stoked about the future of this church and
ready to serve! Churches like the ones I mentioned above exist all over... all you have to
do is find it, then again the right church for you will probably end up finding
you. Don't give up on fellowship; Jesus is the greatest love you will
ever know! Christ's Servant, Thomas
In the ancient days of my youth my cousin and I always played in the church
yard across from my grandmother’s house. One day I was in a live oak
climbing it like any 11 year old. I fell about 10 feet straight down and
planted on my wrist. The pain shot through me like red hot
lightning. I freaked! I kept thinking my parents were going to be
angry. Time passed, the pain subsided, and the little swelling that
started went away in days. No broken bones.
I'm a different man than I was 5 years ago. No manifestation of
miraculous proportions. I was just prompted by the familiar inner voice
of the Holy Spirit to think about how I have never been allowed to crash and
burn in the failures of my life. I have always survived to fight another
day.
I have learned that being a Christian isn't about a church dress code, or
wearing the best clothes to church. It's not about running laps around
the sanctuary and jumping pews because you were "touched by the
spirit". It's not about tithing 10 % and above when you have to buy
fuel to get to work for the next week and food to sustain life.
Being a Christian is knowing the love, grace, and forgiveness of our
Savior. In return for what Christ does for us he wants us to do the same for
each other. It is NOT religion...NOT EVEN CLOSE! Praise the Lord!! I have
discovered that being a Christian isn't as big of a choir as it was presented
to me in my youth.
I was more or less disappointed by the church where I found Christ as a youth in
the early 80's. I went to an alter call after the service and I knew I was
changed and that I wasn't "alone" anymore.
The church I attended was a religious type of fellowship; in other words,
they put their own spin on a whole bunch of rules and stipulations in how one
was to live their life No television, short hair cuts for the guys, long
hair for the girls, no jewelry, ect. There was a trip to Disney World (imagine
that) hosted by the church I attended. I think my Mom and I both
contributed to the fund. I approached someone about the trip and I was
told, "You can't go to Disney World unless you have spoken in tongues".
Further more they said, unless you have spoken in tongues to PROVE you had the
indwelling of the Holy Ghost, you are doomed to hell". I was 13
years old; I had some bad feelings about church and fellowshipping for a long
time.
After an 18 year absence at age 31 I came back to fellowshipping with other Christians.
I am still learning and growing in the Lord. I am a work in progress.
Television
March 08, 2008
February 23, 2008
The kids are alright...not so fast my friends...
The thoughts below crossed my mind Thursday morning.
I passed a bus stop. Several kids and...well...about 4 adults. Sad! 
The
condition of this world is degrading friends! We can't even let our
children stand alone with their friends to catch a school bus for 10
minutes. The contrast of the years gone by is sobering folks. This
ain't scientificly researched, but I think it's pretty accurate.
Contrast between say... 1987 and 1957, they weren't too different as
far as the moral condition were they? Compare 1987 with 2007....is
enough said? The gap of moral degeneration and society change between
1987 and 2007 is the same as between 1917and 1957. The pace of this is
frightening and astunding!
We are zipping right along.....double time! The deteriorating world has caught up with us. We better get busy people!
At
ten years old my freedom went as far as my bike and energy would let
me. I could go HOURS unattended without my momma worrying about some
sicko approaching me. The only worrys on my ten year old mind was
where I was going to build my next fort, and keeping the chain tight on
my bicycle. That went ALL THE WAY UP TO MIDDLE SCHOOL!
I
think it's sad to see the kids seated in front of the television,
controller in hand, and the mp3 blaring away in the ears. They are
pale skinned and unhealthy looking. Sad! Don't get me wrong I like
video games too, but IT'S TOO MUCH. This inactivity has caused the
following modern conditions. I will note the real causes below.
ADD: aka: "Another Disillusioned Diagnosis"
HYPERACTIVE: aka: "Not Enough Activity"
This is caused by a severe lack of activity in children AND adults. All children aren't the same and some need to have INTENCE PHYSICAL activity
during free time in order to chill out during quite focused moments.
Recess is pretty much phased out in many public schools; therefore,
your going to get a heapin' dose of some "ADD" and "Hyperactivity" For
some folks when physical activity stops, the activity in the brain
keeps going. Yes, it's as simple as that! Doctors throw pills at it
to squelch it.
Stop it!!!! You are breaking the spirit of children!!!
Did you know it is VERY difficult to estimate and retain the correct dosage.
The side effects of this poison hurt too! Cramps.....depression...indifference! 
I believe that this condition is real, but is WAY over diagnosed and medicated.
If
I didn't get enough activity as a kid I had this very problem!
Fortunately, growing up I had CHILDHOOD FREEDOM. Running up and down
the road screaming like a fool, peddling my bike until my legs hurt,
and getting disciplinary corrections from multiple people from a myriad
of walks of life rounded me out as a silly kid!
My
heart is breaking because I hold my childhood experience, and it's
FREEDOM close to me, and todays kids don't get to have this unless they
live in the woods...even that is dangerous now!!
We had a chance to grow a little before the world hit us square in the face.
Do
I think today's kids are weak? NO...Absolutely not! Today's children
face more as 7 year olds than we did as 11 year olds.
Our
middle schools are full of lascivious behavior in the dark corners and
bathrooms where eyes aren't looking. Yes, it is horrible, yet it
happens. We don't like to think about it; but, the more popular your
youngin' is the more likely he / she is going to be subject to this.
The
times are what they are....what we can do is let our kids know we
trust, love, AND we care. We have to establish an understanding of
violence and sex WAY earlier than we did with our rents! Its a shame,
but it looks like we have to have that talk around 7 or 8 years old
now.....I know...it's shocking, but we better tell em' before someone
else does.
We
need to control what our children see and hear. Not level four lock
down, but at least try! Television is the worst culprit of society
decay! Stop being greedy! Get a DVR and watch it later!!!! Adults can
handle the language, violence, and smut on the TV. Children can't
process it properly. They sometimes end up trying to live it out.
They emulate the personalities they see, this include profanity, ect.
The key is talking with your kids constantly about what they see on TV;
explain to them that it is not the way they should behave if they
accidentally see it. Hellooooooooo!!!!!!!! Remember when you were a
kid? How did you learn how the world worked and life? By watching
others right? If 11 year old mike sees a man grasping and other
"soft" sex scenarios repeatedly over time guess what he might try to do
with little Emily up the street!!!!
Don't
even think you can keep them from trying this out by saying...."now
Mickey....that's what adults do...not kids"......EEHHHH YEAH!
Nice try. Ask any middle school teacher if they have ever caught kids in sexual acts.
TALK
to your children about the stuff they see on TV. A five second
statement will not deter them from acting it out if they take the
notion to do so. They need to know it is not proper. They also need
to know and be reminded that you care and love them CONSTANLY. Their
eyes may roll in the teen years, but they do listen folks.
(The below article was extracted from Probe Ministries) "Violence in Society"
The
Bible teaches that "as a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Prov.
23:7). What we view and what we think about affects our actions.
Defenders
of television programs say that isn't true. They contend that televised
imagery doesn't make people violent nor does it make people callous to
suffering. But if televised imagery doesn't affect human behavior, then
the TV networks should refund billions of advertising dollars to TV
sponsors.
I could write a novel
Thanks for reading
Christ's Servant
Thomas !
