What You Talkin' 'Bout Heathen?

“Whew! Taylor Swift is HOT! Man, she’s only 15 though.”
This was said by a man in his 50’s during break at my work today. Pervert? Uh, yeah. Depraved? Definitely. Saved? Not. But what is odd is that this man is an ordained “minister”, albeit from a mail-order/ internet church that divvies these “pastorates” out for 30 bucks. He actually got this bogus ordination a few years ago so he could perform a wedding ceremony at a local bar here in Paducah. He claims to be a Christian, even though he spews curse words more than anyone I have ever heard, and that is a lot…. believe me. I cringe when I hear him talk about the things of God, because he obviously knows nothing of the Holy God of the bible.

I have had a few conversations with him about true biblical Christianity. Needless to say, my words fall on deaf ears. His mind and heart are presently closed to the things of God and he is mired in a sinful life. Today I broke from my normally mild mannered speech, to a point blank “calling the kettle black” mode. Normally I do not do this at work because I am in a position that could get a lot of backlash from speaking out too loudly about Godly things. I am so glad I did, it is actually an answer to my recent prayers. I have asked the Lord to embolden me at work….. and He has answered in the last several months.

This is the latest encounter in my work place. Of recent I have had several God focused conversation with my plant manager, of all people. He claims to be a Christian as well, but his lifestyle also does not match up. Matter of fact, several people at my job profess Christ, but are as lost as anyone ever was. I have to continually be reminded that these people are doing what is natural to them, sin. They lie about being a Christian, they party with the best of them, cuss up a storm, cheat, steal from our employer by not giving a fair days work for their wages, live with their girlfriends/ boyfriends and so on. They are a prime example of the product of American Christianity.

Back to the “ordained minister”. I was emboldened to speak out against what he said about Taylor Swift. Not that a 50 year old man lusting after a 15 year old girl is any different than a 50 year old man lusting after a 50 year old woman. It is all sin. I told him that it wasn’t right to look at a girl that young to which he replied, “Yeah, but she’s showing it off, I’m looking”. There may have been some other words in there, but I’ll refrain from typing those out.

I then said “You know Jesus said that if you look at a woman with lust, you have already committed adultery in your heart”. That elicited a few stammers and he replied, “Well, every man on the planet has cheated then”. (Once again, words omitted to protect your eyes and mind). My reply to him was “That may be so, but when you stand before God on judgment day, you will not have those other men there to justify your sins, you’ll be standing there alone and you will not be able to say that everyone else did it, so it made it alright for you. You’ll have to stand there and fell the wrath of God on you”.

After I said that, using God’s Word, he clammed up and was really quiet. Romans 3:19 comes to my mind. God’s Word can and does quieten skeptics and sinners. I was shown again that I can’t rely on Jeff to change someone, but to lean on God’s Word and proclaim the Truth in and out of season. I praise God for opening my mouth in this instance and pray that He continues to use me. I am ready to go deeper and need to relinquish myself to Him. I have a hard time doing so because my self confidence is weak, but the more I pray, the more I study the Bible and the more He shows me, the more I see that it’s not up to me to do anything. I must relinquish it all to the Lord and He will have His way. I’ll just be there as a willing vessel, whatever that entails.



For those of you that would also like your “ordination”, here is a link

Merry Christmas - Proclaim His Goodness

Luke 2:10-14 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.


As Christmas morning approaches each year and I see more and more of the secularizing of this great Holiday I am drawn more to what Christmas is all about. We are all aware that December 25th is not the actual birthday of Jesus. Science actually tells us it was probably mid-summer, but does the date really matter? Are we to be celebrating the "day" or are we to be celebrating the Love of God that would send us His Son, that would 33 years later take His wrath upon Him for our sins? Your sins, my sins. The significance of December 25th should be it is a common day that we, as Christians, set aside to do just that, Celebrate our Lord and Saviour.

But don't forget the reason for Christ's birth in your celebrations. What better day to share the message of Christ, His Gospel, to an unsaved family member or friend? As Christians we are ambassadors for Christ in every situation and especially at Christmas time, when most of the world uses it as an excuse to throw a party and tip back a few (probably more than a few) drinks and eat a whole bunch, we have the duty to proclaim the real Reason for the season. The reason is not to party, not to eat, not to give or receive Christmas gifts, but to celebrate The Gift, Christ.

You already have an opening to the evangelical conversation. "Merry Christmas!" is the ultimate "ice breaker" as Way of the Master puts it. It is an entry, a reason to spark a conversation about things Spiritual. Share your testimony of what Christs birth, His death and His resurrection means to you. Explain Christs propitiation for us. Explain repentance and the TRUTH of the Gospel Message. Do not let this Christmas pass without sharing the greatest Gift with someone you love.

Also keep in mind that not all that profess Christ are really His. Don't let Uncle Bubby tell you that he "took care of it a long time ago" or that he's "got his ticket" or "he said that prayer" or "walked the aisle" when he was a kid. If his fruits aren't in alignment with the Word of God, he is as lost as your Christmas turkey. Share with him the TRUTH of the Word, not what man has distorted to accommodate their sins. The Word is clear that if you are fiends of the World you are and enemy of God James 4:4. Treat the professing Christian the same as any other lost person, because they are lost too, much more deceived, but just as lost. Pray that the Spirit will give you the words to say and He will. Let His will be done this day. Share Him with those you love and if by the off chance everyone in your family is a truly born again Christian, stop by a gas station and share Christ with those poor people that have to spend their Christmas Day working.

May the Lord Bless you all this day and every day!
Merry Christmas!

Oral Roberts Pioneer of The Prosperity Gospel - Dead At 91

Recent news reports state that Oral Roberts has passed away from complications of pneumonia. Roberts was known as the inventor of the prosperity, name it and claim it, “Seed of faith” message so prominent today. He was 91.

Was this man a born again believer? Who knows, except for the Lord and now Mr. Roberts? I will not labor to prove either way, yea or nay, if he was truly converted. His “gospel message” was not one of the bible, so what he personally believed was not biblical, but pandered to flesh.

I’ve never really delved into Oral Roberts and his legacy, but I do know that the American prosperity “gospel” would not be the same without his declarations many decades ago. He paved the way for the likes of Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn and even Joel Osteen to fill their deep pockets.

So, what does this mean to me? It means that Roberts just became part of the ultimate statistic, 10 in 10 will die. Was he ready? I’m not sure, but I can only speculate that if he did not turn from the message he proclaimed that he was not truly converted. His message lacked the actual Good News that Jesus Himself as well as the Apostles proclaimed.

It will be interesting to see who offers up posthumous accolades to Roberts. I am sure that those mentioned above will have some very positive words about him. I really don’t expect anyone to come out and say he was a heretic, at least not in the near future. I will leave it like it is, Roberts did not proclaim a biblical gospel but instead one that had flesh as the centerpiece instead of Christ.

I pray that Oral Roberts did recently repent of his sins and trust in God as his Savior instead of his accountant. Did he? I have no idea and will not know until I pass into eternity myself, also becoming part of the ultimate statistic.

In closing I will say that if anything does not have God as its focus, then it is sin. Plain and simple. So examine what your preacher is saying on Sunday mornings, search the scriptures John 5:39 and make sure you are not just having your ears tickled 2 Tim 4:3 with a false message of prosperity and health. A Christian is never promised either in scripture, we are offered to be the scourge of the Earth, to be persecuted for our faith 2 Tim 3:12 . Chances are if the World applauds you, then you are probably not living a biblical lifestyle which is on the wide path of destruction James 4:4, John 17:16, . Examine yourself 2 Cor. 13:5 and make sure your faith is in Christ and His Word instead of a mans.

Here is a brief history of Oral Roberts

Tiger Woods, Media Darling And A Victim Himself? What?

Okay, I’ll admit it. I was contemplating doing a blog post on Tiger Woods a day or so after the car crash story broke, but decided against it. I was going to elude to the fact that the story seemed really fishy and how everyone in the news media also seemed to be falling for the whole thing. I even did a little photo editing of a Tiger picture, giving him a black eye and swollen lip, then again I balked and did nothing.

Flash forward a few more day, now I can’t stand it. It is not really Tiger that upsets me (any more than any other person that cheats on their spouse does anyway). It is the media once again. Kind of half listening to the news this morning at work I kept hearing Tigers name. When I then inclined my ear a little more I all that seemed to be the topic was Tiger and his “sex addiction”, how Tiger is now a victim because he has a chemical imbalance in his brain that causes him to be a sex addict. Actually it wasn’t something new to me to hear, it is called having a Y chromosome or better known as being a man.

So allow me to explain Tiger’s real problem. He is a man. That’s pretty much it, but I don’t think I can stop there and must elaborate a tad. See, men are really sexual creatures, it is a very common characteristic of men to have wandering eyes and minds. It is our nature, it can’t be denied and it is very difficult to keep in check. This is a heart issue as Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, but it is not an excuse. I too am bombarded with females that seem to be wearing Barbie clothing at the mall, at the grocery and yes, even at some churches. These women flaunt themselves and a man has to consciously divert their eyes to a different area. So this is the issue that Tiger has, he just carried it out in the physical area as well as his mind. To put it bluntly, he is a sinner. What I am not sure of is his professing spiritual beliefs.

Evidently he does not hold fast to Christian principles, which is really the main concern here. Tiger needs Christ. Just like I was in need of a Savior, my wife was in need of a Savior, my pastor was in need and every other person that has been converted was in need of a Savior. Tiger needs to be saved and he also needs to kept being saved. “What? How can you keep being saved Jeff?”. I’m glad you asked.

Salvation is not only being saved from a fiery eternity in hell. You are also being saved from a sinful life…. Daily! When God actually converts you, you will then be justified through Christ, but that begins the sanctification process in which you start becoming more like Christ and less like you. So many professing Christians seem to really be lacking in this part of the Christian life. Actually if they are not in a sanctification process, never started it, then I would say that they were never converted in the first place. A continual lifestyle of sin can only mean one thing. A disbelief in the God of the Bible, so you can’t be saved if you don’t believe in the God of scripture. When someone is born again as Jesus spoke of in John 3. So being born of the flesh we are creatures of sin and being born of the Spirit we have a new nature to seek to please God instead of ourselves. A really simple concept that is often overlooked.

How many times have you heard that someone backslid, lived in sin their whole life BUT are still saved and going to heaven. Blasphemy! That is a gross misuse of the name of Christ in calling that person a Christian. I know firsthand, because that was me from 8 years old until I was 38 years old. I lived a life of sin all the time claiming Christ as my Savior. I even prayed every night, regardless of what bed I was in or what chemical or liquid was guiding my thoughts, I could always seem to squeeze out a “God please forgive me for sinning today. I’m sorry. Please give me_____________.” I was very deceived and very wicked and very blasphemous. No, I never took God’s Name in vain as most people think it, but I did when I said that I was a Christian. Praise the Lord He took the scales off of my eyes. Not quite the Damascus Road revelation Paul had, but quite the transformation non-the-less.

So back to Tiger. Tiger does what comes natural to him, other than hitting a golf ball very well, he sins very well too. He can’t help it, it’s his nature. He was born a sinner and remains a sinner, until He repents of his sins and trusts in the God of the Bible through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to atone for his sins. Simple, yet not readily stated these days. So all the talk about a sex addiction is only partially correct, he is addicted to sin in general and sex with women other than his wife is just how he manifests his sinfulness. Other sinners have different manifestation of their sinful hearts - lying, stealing, blaspheming God’s Holy Name, pornography, drinking, drugs, and so on. It is a heart condition and my prayers go out to them, not just Tiger Woods, but all sinners that are in need of a Savior.

Just one plea to the media (not that they will ever read this, but hey> It’s worth a shot). Stop making excuses for people that live sinful lives. A sex addict is a sinner. A thief is a sinner. A cheating husband is a sinner. A bank robber is a sinner. An alcoholic is a sinner. A drug addict is a sinner. A (insert sinful lifestyle sin here) is s till a sinner. They all sin against A Holy God that will one day require payment for their sins. There are only two possibilities on that Day. 1.) You will either stand before God and try to explain away your sins and plea how many “good” things you did to try and outweigh the “bad”. or 2.) You will fall on your knees and cry for your Advocate 1 John 2:1, Christ to make your case for you. #2 is the only Way, because #1 is a eternal death sentence. Oh, and one more thing about #2, the Father has already forgiven your sins if you are truly converted, He will not hold you accountable for the sins that you fell into, because they were written on Cross and blotted out by the Blood of Christ Acts 3:19. WOW! And AMEN!

Issues? Nah, I've Got Subscriptions!

The title of this blog is not mine, but it was said about me by a good friend. We have some good banter and some of the topics that come up I have some issues with (secular music, T.V., movies, some "Christian" artists, etc.)So many, in fact, that my friend said "You don't have issues, you have subscriptions". What a great comment, I think he meant it in a light hearted, half kidding - half serious way. The more I've been thinking about that, the more I agree.

I do thank God that He has given me these "subscriptions". See, in my past I followed the world, while proclaiming to be a Christian. It was only until God took the scales off my eyes did I start to see clearly, it was His touch that not only saved me from a fiery grave, saved me from this sinful world BUT also healed me from the justifications that I made of my former false conversion.

God opened my eyes in a big way. I am a sceptic by nature, I want to know WHY something is. I have been given the gift of discernment and it does extend to people, I can usually tell if a person is lost and deceived. What I can really never tell for sure (unless I spend a lot of time with them) is if they are genuinely converted). There are only a small percentage of people that I would be willing to say were Christians, because I have seen deception run for years only to see their true self emerge (and no they didn't backslide, they were deceiving).

Sorry, this was not meant to be a blog about people, but about me. I was going to air MY dirty laundry, not others. My list of "subscriptions" is ever growing. Some are deep personal convictions and it is admittedly hard for me to not expect others to also have these same convictions. This is just, yet another, area that I need to seek God in, that I will be more dependent on Him and seek more time with Him. You will see a pattern in my list below. Most of the "subscriptions" I have are with professing believers, those that are quick to say "yeah, I'm a Christian", but in their actions prove otherwise. Personally I do not take someone at their word, but instead examine their fruit as commanded in scripture. I do not do this as a sceptic, to disprove their relationship with God, but I also cannot encourage a deceived person into an even deeper state of deception by acting as if they are a Christian. I have too much contact and lived too long as one that was deceived to be an advocate for their pathway to hell.

So here's the list (as much as I can think of at this time) - in no particular order:
"Christians" (especially musicians) that wear secular bands shirts
"Christians" That seem to only want to be in a service on Sunday mornings
Casting Crowns - not really their music, but everyone using their music as theology instead of using the Bible. (okay God does separate our sins from us as far as the East is from the West, but that's not a ticket to sin)
Lifeway Stores (and any other "Christian" outlet) that sells books like "The Shack", "Blue Like Jazz", "Velvet Elvis", "A New Kind of Christian", etc.
The American Gospel
"Christian" music magazines and websites that write about secular artists
Movies that use Christianity as a draw, but are blatantly NOT God focused - i.e. Evan Almighty, Oh, God
The "Christians" that support movies like those mentioned above
Pastors/ Evangelists that manipulate the emotions with extended altar calls, music, low grade hypnotism
The Sinners Prayer in general
Third Day supporting/ promoting U2 (Third Day is a great band, a fave, but they are very deceived about U2)
"Christians" that profess to fear God, but yet read very sinful books, watch very sinful movies, listen to anti-Christian music, look at sinful magazines, etc.
"Christians" that promote drinking alcohol, in any way - shape - or form. Especially those that say "Jesus turned water into wine" - uh, wine was very different in those times than now, if Jesus turned water into something comparable today it would be Welches Grape Juice.
Preachers/ Evangelists that drive Lexus', Bentleys, have chauffeurs (Sure, have a nice car but not one that is the budget of an African country)
Name it and claim it preachers/ the health and wealth "gospel"
The saying "Love the sinner, hate the sin" - um, that's not in the bible. Without a sinner, there would be no sin. Kinda like love the apple, hate the tree - it ain't possible
People that call others Pharisees. Do a little research on what Pharisees actually are/ were. Do not resort to calling someone this because they make a biblical statement, in context and show you that you are incorrect in something.
The rap group GRITS. More specifically the lead "rapper" Coffee. He has a very racist quality about him, seen it firsthand while attending the 2009 GMA Awards.
Professing "Christians" that say God tells them living a sinful lifestyle is o.k. or that cheapen God's grace and Christs suffering.
Those that say they have their "ticket" to heaven. Salvation is not fire insurance.
"Christian" musicians that list secular musicians as influences.
Secular artists that produce Christian themed songs (Carrie Underwood, Johnny Cash, Dolly and yes, even Elvis.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Just read some of my earlier posts, but in them too you'll see a pattern about those professing to be Christians and not actually portraying it other than by their words. Oh, how could I have forgotten the heretics that kick people in the stomach to heal them (Todd Bentley), or the one's that say "Send me $25 for this miracle anointing oil straight from Israel"? These heretical charlatans really get my goat. They use God as a money magnet and prey on the elderly and sick with promises of healings and increased income. These have to be the lowest of lows that will be sharing the deepest, darkest corners of hell with Satan himself.

I'm sure more subscriptions will come up over time. Rest assured that you will not have to worry about me voicing my thoughts on them either. True Christians need to stand up for Christ, need to stop believing every word that comes out of people's mouths in fear of hurting someones feelings. I cannot stand for someone to blaspheme my Father's Name, I will call them on it. Not necessarily the blatant sinner, that professes nothing to do with God, but those that say they know God, but live contrarily. If you have not already - take a stand. Choose this day who you will serve!