What a tragedy that such a talented, pretty gifted young woman's life was cut so short. On the one hand, the "everybody goes to heaven when they die" crowd has her singing around the Pearly Gates, while the opposite side of the aisle has condemned her to eternal hell fire and damnation due to her problem with drug addiction. Here is the truth: Only God knows whether Whitney went to heaven or hell. On the other hand, there are multitudes all around us...young and old and all ages in between who are lost and without God or His Son! Nothing can be done concerning Whintey’s eternity but for the rest are we just as concerned about whether they are going to heaven or hell. Without accepting Jesus Christ there is no hope at all.
 
 
 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.
 
 
When you say you are feeling pressured to give, is it because you currently are not? If the message for three weeks was on prayer would that be okay? Or if the message for three weeks was on being a witness for Jesus Christ would that be okay? Giving, money, possessions is something Jesus talked about more than heaven or hell. Where ever our treasure is there our heart will be also. The basis of our giving needs to be built out of obedience and trust in the Lord. I would encourage you to examine your heart and your giving to see if they are in agreement.
 
 
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.

 
 
The first weekend of April I was in Tennessee to join my son, and a handful of other people to hike up Mount Leconte, the third highest peak in the Smoky Mountains, 6593 feet. 

This weekend trip was a time that I had been looking forward to. It was a time to be with my son. It was a time to enjoy the beautiful creation of God. Early Saturday morning we get ready our back packs and headed for the mountain. For the next four hours we crossed rivers, walked narrow steep trails, took some beautiful pictures, and made our way to the cabin on the top of the mountain. 

Sitting in the cabin that evening using a oil lamp, three of us and a guy who just sat down named Matthew began playing a game of cards. Matthew proceeds to tell us how he hiked up several bottles of alcohol as he sat there drinking one of them, with his live in girlfriend sitting beside him. A group of people at the other end of the cabin began singing some Christian songs. Matthew was sitting on my right hand, it was his turn to lay down a card. As the group began another song he threw out his card and said, shaking his head, “I don’t believe in God, I am an atheist”. 

Now, I have got to admit that my flesh almost got in the way. You see this was Saturday April 2 and I almost said, “Oh really, are you here celebrating your holiday?” Hoping he would say, “What holiday?” I was going to say, April Fool’s Day because “the fool has said in his heart there is no God!”

But because I had prayed and was listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit when Matthew said, ““I don’t believe in God, I am an atheist”, as I played my card, I just casually said, “I don’t believe in atheist”. 

No one said a word at the table. You see I wasn’t wearing my Christian t-shirt, I didn’t introduce myself as a pastor. I was just a guy on the mountain playing cards who said, “I don’t believe in atheist”.

Matthew said, “It doesn’t matter whether you believe in atheist or not we still exist.” I looked Matthew right in the eye and said, “That’s just like God, whether you believe in Him or not He still exist”.

Matthew is looking at me, my son is looking at both of us waiting to see what is going to happen next. Matthew reaches out his hand to shake mine and says with a smile, “Good answer”.

From there we talked about the God that doesn’t exist and the beautiful sunset that Matthew just said was one of the best he had ever seen. We talked some more and we parted as I said to Matthew just loud enough for him to hear, “Matthew, don’t give up on God, He has not given up on you.”

 
 
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.
 
 
The Unpardonable Sin

Weeping and crying this person is sitting in my office obviously very upset. They were concerned that they had committed the unpardonable sin and was filled with overwhelming sorrow. After hearing about their sin I insured them that the sin they had committed was not unpardonable or unforgiveable but it was a sin that needed to be confessed and repented of.

This brings us to the question, “What is the Unpardonable Sin?” If you read in  Matthew 12, Mark 3 and Luke 12 they all deal with this very important question. What sin is so great that Jesus Christ said it could not be forgiven? When Jesus makes this bold statement He is responding to how the Scribes and Pharisees have rejected the work of the Holy Spirit that was being done through His ministry.  What we have here is the Pharisees, the religious leaders, the ones who studied and knew the Word of God better than anyone.  They were the ones who knew the works of God, the miracles of God, the way God could work on behalf of men and yet attributed all that the Holy Spirit was doing through Jesus Christ, not to God but to the Devil.

This was not a sin of impulse or ignorance but of willfully rejecting the truth  concerning the life and ministry of Jesus that according to Acts 10:38 was done by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. They had heard His teaching, saw His life, seen His miracles, knew how He had fulfilled the Messianic prophecies and yet they refused to  accept the spiritual truth and knowledge that was right there before them.

When a person has heard, has seen, has been given the truth but not only refuses the truth but says it is all a work of the Devil there is no forgiveness available for him. He has rejected the truth and the author of truth and has even gone another step to proclaiming that the Holy Spirit, the active presence of God and all this is good is from the Devil.  When a person who truly knows the truth concerning the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit and yet proclaims it to be of Satan that person is not able to receive forgiveness. They have rejected the truth and accepted proclaimed the lie.

Psalms 52:3 “You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness.”

Isaiah 5:20-21 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;  Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;  Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,  And prudent in their own sight!”

Malachi 2:17 “You have wearied the LORD with your words; Yet you say, “ In what way have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “ Everyone who does evil Is good in the sight of the LORD, And He delights in them,”
 
 
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.