Trials

Hello All. My wife and I have been experiencing some trials over the last four months. If you read this blog I am asking for your prayers, please. Shawna has been having sever tiredness after giving birth to our son. Since the delivery she has had a few health issues. This all may run together or it may not but it is my best effort to post a coherent list of events. To simplify Shawna has 3 major issues right now. 1 Heart issues due to a congenital heart defect, 2 Hepatitis C which was contracted during a open heart surgery in 1987, and 3 a large spot on her liver.
Please forgive me if things get confusing during this post. Here is the latest with Shawna's health. She had a doctors visit today with the stomach doctor concerning a large spot on her liver and hepatitis C treatment. We found out that the hepatitis C is a very mild strain 1 A which is the most common. Also 1A has a very low virus load, so treatment should be easy.
But this doctor is very concerned about the spot on Shawna's liver. The doctors office is scheduling Shawna with an appointment at the UAB comprehensive cancer center. At UAB they are going to preform more scans and tests. At this point the test will be to try to determine what this spot is exactly, benign or cancerous. I am praying that it is not cancer. Right now Shawna has two major issues. One is her heart, we are praying that will be treatable by oral medication and not require another surgery; and the other is the spot on her liver.
We just returned from an over night stay at UAB becasue Shawna had a Heart Catherization that required hospitalization. Here is a little more history on that.
She did not need a stint installed as previously thought from her doctors. The Pulmonary artery stenosis is not causing Shawna's tiredness. The doctor said that there are 3 or 4 small things that are probably culminating and attributing to the tiredness, swelling, and shortness of breath. Shawna was born with Truncus arteriosus. Truncas is characterized by a large ventricular septal defect over which a large, single great vessel (truncus) arises. Basically a normal heart has a clear path to the left and right ventricle, truncas patients do not. She has patch that closes the hole in her heart, and a human piece that connects all the ventricles together.
Here are the findings. A normal pulmonary artery size is 18 - 25mm. Shawna's left ventricle is 33mm and her right is 12mm, that size difference is what was seen on the CT scans and caused the doctors for alarm, but it is fine. Now were the (homograph) the human organ installed to fix the truncas; is narrowed by maybe only 10% where the ventricle attaches to the homograph, again not a big deal. The doctor found that there are small mild leaks where the homograph attaches to the right and left ventricle. Also the homograph is a little aged; it is actually 21 years old. Shawna knew that it might have needed to be replaced years ago.
Now the big unexpected finding is this. Where her aorta where attaches to the homograph has some tearing and is leaking on a moderate level. The doctor said that would probably be the explanation as to why her symptoms worsened at the last trimester and have not gotten better. When there is moderate leakage a person will experience heart failure symptoms, such as swelling in ankles and hands, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Shawna exhibits all of these. The doctor(s) believe that all of these mild leaks plus the moderate leak are causing her problems.
Here is the solution. The doctors have increased her water pill dosage, and have added a new medicine to her regimen. The new medicine will help to get maximum blood flow to the heart, which we all hope will make the leakages minimal, and Shawna will start feeling better. The trial period for this is 2 to 3 months. If Shawna is not getting better she will need another open heart surgery. The open heart surgery will involve replacing the homograph conduit connecting the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery. Unfortunately the conduit may become narrowed or stenotic over time. Thus, it may have to be replaced from time to time. Shawna has been blessed that she has been able to go so long with out needed a replacement. The surgery will also involve an Aortic valve replacement. Apparently the tearing of this and leakiness over time often need to be replaced in truncas patients.
Our prayers are that our family as a whole will look to the Lord for strength, courage, his will in the midst of circumstances, and give him praise and adoration.
Also we are praying that the new medicine will work well for Shawna and avoid a surgery right now. And finally we are praying that the spot on here liver is benign. Please pray with us.

Blessings,
-Aaron

Video Games and Eternity

Video Games and Eternity

(By Austin Duncan)

Today's post is excerpted from our new staff book, Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong. It is taken from Austin's chapter giving a pastoral perspective on video games.

From the most complex games to solitaire on your cell phone, games take time. Much of what can be said about video games in this regard could also be applied to other aspects of electronic entertainment—such as blogging, watching television, and surfing the internet. When large amounts of time each day are devoted to these activities, it means that in fact large portions of life are being wasted. Regarding television in particular, John Piper says this, “No one will ever want to say to the Lord of the universe five minutes after death, I spent every night playing games and watching clean TV with my family because I loved them so much. . . . Television is one of the greatest life-wasters of the modern age” (Don't Waste Your Life, 119-120). The same could easily be said about video games.

Due to their computerized complexity, today’s video games often require days to master and weeks to beat. A game that only costs forty or fifty dollars to purchase may actually cost hundreds of hours in wasted time. In many games, the player’s character develops as he advances through the virtual storyline, becoming more skilled and better equipped. Yet, players themselves gain little more than carpel tunnel symptoms and an otherwise useless knowledge of fictional weaponry.

Time invested in such pursuits is lost, and cannot be reused for things that matter. Hours that could be spent working, praying, reading, serving, fellowshipping, evangelizing, or just thinking, are instead wasted on activities that have no lasting value. God’s Word teaches us that time is precious (Ps. 90:12; cf. 39:4–5). Using it wisely is an issue of good stewardship. We must not forget that our lives are not our own, we belong to Christ (1 Cor. 6:20). When we waste time consistently, a few hours each day, we waste the very lives we have dedicated to Christ.

One of the central themes of the book of Ephesians is the “walk” of the believer. It is a metaphor the apostle Paul used to represent living. Believers are to walk in good works (Eph 2:10), in love (5:1–5), in holiness (5:6–13), and in a way consistent with their calling (4:1–16). They are also to walk in a way that is purposeful and wise. Paul writes this, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph 5:15–17). Paul’s point here is not strictly about time management (in terms of better scheduling), but life management (in terms of making the most of every opportunity to honor, serve, and worship God). The one who walks wisely will view his or her limited time in this life in light of eternity, taking advantage of every opportunity to bring glory to God.

What is a pastor supposed to be like?

What Makes Men Change?

Jesus!

Beating of the Day

The Christian's heaviest burden

(Arthur Pink, "An Honest Heart")

"Behold, I am vile!" Job 40:4

Sin is the Christian's heaviest
burden--and his greatest grief.

"We are lying if we say we have fellowship
with God--but go on living in darkness."
1 John 1:6

Repentance is not only a sorrowing for
sin--but also a turning away from it;
the throwing down of the weapons of
our warfare against God.

If we truly love God, we will . . .
forsake our sins,
abandon our idols
and mortify our lusts.
An honest soul cannot do otherwise;
anything short of that would be hypocrisy.

The upright man is the one who "fears
God--and turns away from evil." Job 1:8

Thomas Watson said:
"It is better to go to Heaven with much difficulty than to Hell with ease."

Our thoughts are the seed of sin.

Hello,
I was listening to a message this morning that really spoke to me. The message was on guarding your thoughts. Phil Johnson was teaching that every sin is hatched and cultivated in the mind. I agree with Phil because scripture backs up his thinking. James Chapter 2 verses 14 and 15 say 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. The evil desire is conceived, or birthed, in the mind and then grows into sin ( I guess you could say something like I am coveting a cor vet and then I actually commit the act of stealing it.) and then all sin leads to death. So with that small introduction please look over these little notes and tell me what you think..

Sins of the mind.

The sins of the mind grieve God. God destroyed the earth becasue of the thoughts and heart of men. This passage says that God the Almighty grieved and his heart was filled with pain.
Genesis 6:5-7
5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them."

God sees all of our thoughts, when we sin in our mind we sin in his presence. God sees you all the time.
Psalm 1391:-8
1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.


What we think is what we are. If we are thinking abotu iniquity we will act out those actions if we think about righteousness we will act our those actions.
Proverbs 23:7
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “ Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

Jesus said that the sins of the mind are just as vile as the act, and require the same punishment.
Matthew 5:27-30
You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Our acts cannot save us even Jesus looked on the heart. Defilement that is on the inside cannot be washed away by ceremonial cleansing. Jesus said outwardly a person can appear righteous, but on the heart (mind) they are full of full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
Matthew 23:25-35
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?


We need repentance. Only God's Spirit can create in us a clean heart that breaks the unholy alliance from sin.
Psalm 51:10
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
2 Cor 7:9-12
9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 12 Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.

Name it and Claim it Baby!

Hmm ... 1, 2, 3, give me a new car.... Why didn't that work? Waaa... I followed the recipe...

1) Positive Confession: The Theology of the Spoken Word (Rhematology), or thought actualization, is commonly known as positive confession. It stresses the inherent power of words and thoughts. Each person predestines his own future by what he says verbally and by how well he uses spiritual laws. As such, it is as if we live in a mechanistic universe instead of a personal one (see, Kenneth Copeland, Laws of Prosperity, p. 15; Charles Capps, The Tongue A Creative Force, pp. 117-118; Releasing the Ability of God, pp. 98-99, 101-104).

2) The Gospel of Health: Isaiah 53 is used to justify blanket coverage for the physical healing of every Christian who has enough faith. "...it is the plan of our Father God in His great love and His great mercy that no believer should ever be sick, that every believer should live his life full span down here on earth and that every believer should finally just fall asleep in Jesus" (Hagin, Seven Things You Should Know About Divine Healing, p. 21). Hagin also denies having a headache for forty-five years, labeling such as "simply symptoms rather than any indication of a headache" (In the Name of Jesus, p. 44).

3) The Gospel of Wealth: A central tenet of the prosperity gospel is that God wills the financial prosperity of every Christian. If a believer lives in poverty, he/she is living outside God's intended will. "You must realize that it is God's will for you to prosper" (Copeland, Laws of Prosperity, p. 51).

Lets learn some new words

If it ain't in there it ain't in there.

Extra-biblical ---
Teachings, concepts and practices claimed to be supported by or taught in the Bible, but which are based on incorrect interpretation. In hermeneutics, the study of the methodological principles of interpretation, this is known as "eisogesis" (super-imposing a meaning onto the text), as opposed to "exegesis" (drawing the meaning out of the text).

-- Aaron

Ministry Alert! Justin Peters

Hello all. I met Justin Peters at the deeper conference put on by WOTM this past October. Justin is a very, very Humble minister of the Gospel, who suffers from a relatively mild case of Cerebral Palsy. His ministry is educating believers about the Word of Faith movement. Justin has done A Biblical Critique of the Word of Faith Movement or commonly know as he Health and Wealth or Prosperity Gospel. Justin seminar contains dozens of audio and video clips (primarily the latter) of various WoF leaders such as Benny Hinn, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Jessie Duplantis, Creflo Dollar, etc. I have purchased the materials and I must say it was eye opening. He also goes over WoF theology and it's beginnings. I would say that the WoF movement is a cult since they believe in a different Jesus. I also would say that there are probably born again Christians in this movement, but they were not saved at these crusaded. The WoF leaders add things like tongues, healing, and prophecy to salvation. They would say if you do not show these attributes then you are not saved. They also deny the trinity, don't believe Jesus is God, and deny other basic Christians tenants about Jesus and God. You can check out his ministry at Justin Peters , and you can watch the Justin Demo here.


More on Benny Hinn
More on the Copelands
More on the WoF

Blessings,
-- Aaron

Count it all Joy.

Hello All. Please pray for my family. We have been going through a bout of sickness and strain in our lives. My wife who has a congenital heart defect is going to have a catheterization done on February 9th. Please pray the Lords will be done and we accept his good plans. Also she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C yesterday, again please pray that we praise, honor, and Glorify our Lord who saved us becasue he loves us in this situation. Also RJ my son, has a pulmonologist appointment today to see if his lungs are OK. And finally pray that I would be the man that God needs me to be in all of this. That I would honor the Lord with thought, action, and deed, and our family would glorify his precious name. We have been clinging to the Cross during our trials and we hope that through all of this we can strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

Please hold this scriputer close to your hears.

James 1:2-4
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.