In this nation our founding fathers made it very clear that one of the roles of our government was to ensure "freedom of religion". Please don't confuse this with freedom from religion or as some try to proclaim separation of church and state. Never was it intended that religion should be kept out of government but it was intended to keep government out of religion. Religion, moral beliefs are the very fiber of our laws and way of life.
 
 
Jesus Christ gave us three responsibilities in Matthew 6. He said when you give, when you pray and when you fast. Giving shows the heart of God. Praying shows our need to communicate with God. Fasting, abstaining from food shows that we are craving to feed the spirit man over the natural man. When you hunger for God, He will fill you. Fasting is a way for you to become more sensitive to God’s Spirit enabling one to live a life that is pleasing to God.
 
 
I don’t know if you done anything wrong. If you are like most of us you probably did. The bottom line is every person has a free will to chose whether they will serve the Lord. We can pray, live our lives in such a way to be a positive model but still each child has to make a decision to accept or reject Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Continue to pray and if you need to ask forgiveness from your children for wrongs that were done do it and let them know that you love them.

 
 
History has proved that Jesus Christ was not born on December 25th and that the early church never celebrated the birth of Christ. So when and why did this get started?

The actual Christmas celebration was probably the result of the Roman Emperor Constantine in 336 AD officially converting what was a pagan tradition into the "Christian" holiday of Christmas. It is true that many of the traditions of Christmas were pagan in origin. But today for the believers, it is not about worshipping some pagan deity but about acknowledging that God became flesh and they called him Jesus. That Jesus came to take the penalty of our sins by His death on the cross. With the bodily resurrection three days later proving that He was, is and forever will be Lord and Savior.

 
 
Christians are simply people who have accepted and put their trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They come from different backgrounds, from different experiences and have different perspectives.  Even though a person may have become a Christian they still need to now become a disciple, a person who through learning and obedience to God’s Word becomes a follower of Jesus Christ. Usually a disagreement comes because one person does not understand or has not really studied, or is still allowing the sinful nature to influence over the leading of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul said, “Now I know in part”. Even he realized that he did not yet know all that needs to be known.
 
 
A few years ago I would be very surprised to even be asked this question but today it is a very pressing issue. There is at least one church in this community who would answer yes to that question. Their governing body actually encourages all their churches to practice what they refer to as “ONA”. “Open and Affirming” into the life and ministry of the church those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 makes it very clear that those who practice that lifestyle “will not inherit the kingdom of God ”. It also states that some who are now believers use to live that way but now they have been washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, every person should be warmly greeted and treated with respect, but only those who have accepted Christ along with the changed life that He brings should be welcomed into membership.

 
 
First of all I want to make it very clear that in God’s kingdom there is no place for racism or prejudice. John 1:12 says about Christ, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” This verse says that to become children of God we must receive and believe in Christ. God has a plan and purpose for every person who is born a special creation of God. But to become a child of God one must go from just being created to becoming a child of God by both receiving and believing in Christ. This is why Christ commanded all His followers to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel”. Unless one hears and believes they can not be a child of God.

 
 
If all Halloween involved was dressing up in costumes, gathering candy from the neighbors and having a party I would be all for it. But the reality is that there are certain days of the year that evil people and those involved in the occult are very active and this is one of those days. In fact there are curses pronounced, living sacrifices made and many evil things done that are directly connected to this day. I would recommend that you do not decorate with witches or ghosts or anything thing that promotes the kingdom of darkness. In all things let us be people who let the light of Jesus shine.

 
 
Many churches promote that they offer a traditional or a contemporary service, while some even offer multiple services including one of each. For the most part a traditional service would adhere to the order of service, rituals, songs that have been practiced and accepted for years in that particular church. A contemporary service usually uses innovated methods such as illustrated sermons, videos, a worship team or band, new songs and choruses. Neither one is necessarily right or wrong. The methods are not so much the issue as is the message. Does the worship and the preaching give glory to God and agree with the Scriptures? Different people may have a preference for one style over another but the Word of God can never be changed to please the crowd.

 
 
Jesus said, "Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." He then went on to explain that there is a birth in the flesh and a birth of the Spirit. The birth of the Spirit takes places the moment one believes and receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved." The assurance that we have is in Christ and in Christ alone. If you have truly received Christ as Lord in your life then you have a place awaiting you in heaven. See John 3, Romans 8.