when in Texas pt.2

some more pics of the Palo Duro. It was very pretty here.

when in Texas Pt. 1

We visited the Palo Duro in Amarillo, Texas. It's the second largest canyon in the United States. We climbed up to a cave in which I almost slipped down the hill in the process (oops). I'll blame it on our guide..

But it was so gorgeous.

We also visited the Big Texan Steakhouse and were serenaded by a guitar singing Roy Roger's junior. 

I like Texas and even though I was raised in Arkansas, I was born in the big T... you can just imagine my accent.

it goes on

"In three words

I can sum up everything 

I've learned about life

i t    g o e s   o n"

Robert Frost

How 'playing church' kills the Church

It's so easy to become indulgent and lazy in the midst of the chaos going on in the world today.  We're shown graphic, devastating videos of precious lives that have been murdered being bartered for personal financial gain. We watch as fellow Christians are tortured and murdered for their faith in prisons and often in their own homes. We're forced to watch blatant sin that wraps itself in the form of "equality" be praised and glorified by the very people who also claim to be followers of Christ.

I can't begin to describe my disgust with the so called "love" message that is sweeping through the American churches. "Don't judge" they say "don't discriminate", or "only God can judge" ( which is actually pretty scary). I feel like waving my hands in the air and screaming out to the church to wake up.
Christian's cannot stand by the sidelines waving their rainbow flags and then show up to church to worship a God they don't even know. Because if they did truly know Him, they'd tell the story behind the rainbow that God sent after He destroyed the earth because of sin. When are we, as Christians, going to shout from the rooftops "Stop this madness! Stop this blatant sin against God! Stop this mass genocide on the unborn!"

We've read, we've seen and we know that for thousands of years Christians have been persecuted, tortured and murdered for their faith and their stand. They knew and they know that their defiance to change their solid belief in God would ultimately lead to their death.
You know what? I don't think the American church is up to that challenge. You know why? When we're more concerned with "offending" people who are in outright sin and we're more concerned with the lights that make our worship teams look like rock bands and when we're more concerned on whether our church has a coffeeshop in it... there's a problem. a big problem.

Where's the sacrifice? Where's the people who call sin what it is? Where are the people with courage?

I remember seeing a church service clip online where the preacher said behind the pulpit, "We don't want to offend anybody. We hope you might bump into Jesus while you're here, but be completely aware- we don't want to push anything on you." after that speech the 'worship band' began to play Eye of the Tiger and the crowd began to clap.

I was left speechless. We don't want to 'offend' anybody? You might 'bump into Jesus'?
That kind of so called Christianity leaves me deeply ashamed. Ashamed that while they're holding their starbucks, clapping their hands to Eye of the Tiger, and maybe-possibly-but more than likely not- 'bumping' into Jesus, there are thousands of babies being murdered and there are thousands of fellow Christians who are suffering greatly because of their stand. It sears my heart that instead of showing people who Jesus is by our lives and reading of the Word (no matter how much Scripture and truth 'offends' them) that we're instead asking them to come play church with us. Like it's some kind of game on how far we can mix secular and sacred.

When someone dies without knowing Jesus and they're spending eternity separated from God- do you think they're going to thank all those people who patted them on the back, those people who sugarcoated their sin and those who said 'don't judge'? NO, they'll be crying out in rage and anger because that is not Christian love. True Christian love is sacrificially giving your life for Christ- no matter if that includes death, embarrassment, hate. It's showing and helping people see their need of Christ. It's showing people the heavy consequences of their sin. It's walking the walk and not just saying pretty (and pretty much useless) words on Sunday morning. It's not 'following your dreams', but following hard after God's path for your life.

"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for." -Charles Spurgeon.

Let's become a courageous people. People who will walk the walk no matter what. People who will give anything for the One whom we are created for.

In other words, let's give it all, okay?