Tag Christianity

“Pop Goes the Gospel” Blog Carnival November 30th Edition

Allen Frederick 4 Comments

jesusinaboxWelcome to the November 30, 2008 edition of Pop Goes the Gospel. As usual I received many more submissions than I could include in this edition. In order to make every edition the best it can be I choose only the best submissions from each author and only allow one article per author to be published.

All article submissions must meet the guidelines set forth on the article submission page and must set forth a clear Christian perspective in the article. If you have submitted an article to this Carnival and do not see it published here please check the submission guidelines again to be sure your articles meet the requirements set forth there.

Now that all the rules and regulations have been laid out on with the carnival.

Gather up a few minutes and be sure to stop by each vendor and sample what they have to offer. All of these authors have taken the time to present to you a sampling of their wares free of charge. The information contained in one of these articles may be life changing for you. So feel free to sample each offering and then be kind and submit an offering of your own for the next edition of ‘Pop Goes the Gospel’, where the Gospel intersects culture. Until next time Eagle out.

Culture

A Sower presents Will We Be Sodom? posted at A Sower’s Heart. A thought provoking article answering the questions has America become like Sodom? The author cites the Sodomites were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned. Sounds a little like God’s condemnation to the church in Laodicea.

Church Life

JCL presents Tithing on Gross vs. Net – What Exactly is Gross Income? posted at The Real Estate Investing Journey, saying, “A Christian perspective on tithing as it relates to real estate investments.”

Kathryn presents Did Jesus Giggle? posted at Living the Proverbs 31 Life, saying, “It is okay to enjoy life!” Kathyrn presents a well written article on Jesus and laughter. I say God has to have a sense of humor because He puts up with me. Besides a merry heart does one good as medicine. If we all laughed a bit more perhaps we could laugh ourselves well.

Education

Trevor Watkinson presents Servitude is Personal Development for Christians posted at SaveYourSweat.com Blog, saying, “Why having the heart of a servant is important!” Trevor has been an active contributor to this blog carnival since its first edition hit cyberspace and he is back again with another fine article on servitude. Putting others before self, he explains, is the biblical way to achieve success.

Family

ChristianPF presents 5 Bible verses about money every Christian should know posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog. ChristianPF another frequent contributor to this blog carnival comes through once again with a fine 5 point financial primer. His 5 bible verses about money should help you stave off economic disasters. Try them you may just like them. I do.

Tiffany Partin presents Fathom Deep: Sounding the Depths of God: This Thursday is NOT Turkey Day! posted at Fathom Deep: Sounding the Depths of God. Reflections from the Thanksgiving table. The true meaning of giving thanks. Thank you Tiffany for another fine post.

Unlike a Thanksgiving dinner choke full of every imaginable side dish and dessert this edition of ‘Pop Goes the Gospel’ may not appear to be filling but once you sink your teeth into each entrée I am sure you will come away full. So until next month be blessed and be a blessing to others.

That concludes this edition.

Be sure to submit your blog article to the next edition of
Pop Goes the Gospel
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

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Doing the Right Thing

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

We can’t allow ourselves to get tired of living the right way. Certainly, each of us will receive {everlasting life} at the proper time, if we don’t give up. Whenever we have the opportunity, we have to do what is good for everyone, especially for the family of believers. Gal 6:9-10 (GW)

The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade CampaignerDuring the course of his intense efforts to fight against slavery, William Wilberforce came to a desperate place of discouragement, feeling he had absolutely no more strength to continue. In this condition he was about to give up, when his elderly friend, John Wesley, lying on his deathbed, was informed of his friend William’s distress. Wesley requested pen and paper, and with a quivering hand, wrote these words,
“Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God? Oh be not weary of well-doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery shall vanish away before it.”
John Wesley died six days later, but William Wilberforce fought for forty-five more years, and in 1833, three days before his own death, witnessed the abolition of slavery in Britain.
Living right in a wrong world can be overwhelming at times. Trying to do right when all around seems to be bent on doing wrong can take its toil on anyone. Standing up for what is right may seem to be a very lonely road but stand we must. Fighting the good fight is a worthy goal with eternal rewards. Giving up the fight can adversely have eternal consequences.
As Christians we are tasked with the responsibility of living right in a wrong sided world. To stand upright in an upside down society. Being salt and light to a tasteless, dark world is the responsibility of the church and those who call upon the name of the Lord. It is our heritage, our cross, our mission, and yes it is our duty to our fellow citizens.
Had William given up perhaps things would be far different in the world today. If we give up things will only get worse not better. We need to be the opposing force to the spread of evil in the world.
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil with good. Romans 12:21 (GW)
Be the good for what ails us.


But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)
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The Original High Speed Communication Device

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

 

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”

A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’ Acts 2:21Open Link in New Window (NKJV)

 

Holy Spirit Jesus God Trinity

Image by TheChristianAlert.org via Flickr

The Holy Spirit is the original High speed communication device. Instantaneously we can have contact with the Father via the prayer line to heaven. It is initially installed in all new believers in Christ. This high speed connection is always on and never gets a busy signal. There are no traffic congestions on the highway to heaven. There are no stop signs and traffic lights to hinder your call to heaven. There are however many obstacles to constant connectivity. Our wiring can get rusty from lack of use. We can cut ourselves off from this holy hotline by refusing to listen to the advice offered on the other end. Sin and deception in our lives brought about by the enemy of our souls can cause us to doubt in the usefulness of this heavenly hotline. Our own actions can cause the line to heaven to be severed. If we grieve the Holy Spirit it is possible to hinder our access to the heavenlyhotline. It is a toll free call but it does cost you the time and effort it takes to place the call. Jesus promises that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be heard and a answer will be dispatched.

 

I have had times in my life where that high speed hotline seemed to have been blocked or otherwise rendered ineffectual. During those times it was difficult to remain fearless in waiting on that line to be connected again. I know from personal experience the angst that is present when the heavens seems like brass. When we are waiting for an answer it is hard to wait patiently. The enemy of our souls would have us think that God does not care and is ignoring us. The devil would have us doubt the love of God and His ability to help us in our time of need. The devil would have us think that when we need Him the most God is going to turn His back on us and leave us to struggle on our own.

All these are just static on the hotline to heaven. It is nice when we have a constant clear connection but at times there is a great deal of static on the line we must sift through. The noise and distractions brought on by this static can be very unnerving. God does care. He promises to be with us even until the end of the age. There is no where we can go to escape the presence of God for He is everywhere. Therefore we have confidence when we pick up the hotline to heaven that we will always have a connection.

Anyone who has had a high speed internet connection for any time knows that there are times when the connection is not available. Service outages are common, although infrequent they do occur. Service outages are common in the life of a Christian as well. Although God is always present we are also bombarded with the fiery darts of the evil one. These darts are meant to cause us to doubt God and His word. We need to rely upon the validity of God’s word which is our guarantee of His faithfulness. He gives us a service guarantee when He sends us His Spirit. The presence of God’s Spirit in our lives is our service guarantee from heaven. As long as the spirit is active in our lives then we have the assurance of heavenly protection.

Therefore do not disconnect yourself from the Spirit of the living God for He is your hotline to heaven.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

 

 

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Beware the tax man cometh

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

When someone makes you slaves, consumes your wealth, seizes your property, orders you around, or slaps your faces, you put up with it. 2 Corinthians 11:20 (GW)


How better to describe the current state of our political affairs. Congress keeps enacting laws that are enslaving the population once again and it appears we the people tolerate it.

Why is that?

Could it be that we are so fearful of self-rule that we would much rather put up with those who tell us what to do and how to do it, when we can do it, for how long we can do it, and for how much?

Is the thought of freedom that frightening that we prefer the government enslaves us with burdensome taxation and regulation?

Are we no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave? Why is it we allow our potential political leaders to slap our faces and ridicule our way of life and make us feel guilty for living in such a great nation? They hold us up to national disgrace when they march on the world stage and belittle the American way of life. And we the people sit back and take it.


But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, “No, we want a king! Then we, too, will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us, lead us out {to war}, and fight our battles.” 1 Sam 8:19-20 (GW)

I feel our nation like Israel before, has also rejected the guidance and direction of God, and has instead substituted the rule of the government in place of the rule of God. Listen to what Samuel told the Israelites the rights of a king were. What they had to look forward to by choosing to be ruled by a king. Does any of this sound familiar?

The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me. They’re doing just what they’ve done since I took them out of Egypt—leaving me and serving other gods. Listen to them now, but be sure to warn them and tell them about the rights of a king.” Then Samuel told the people who had asked him for a king everything the Lord had said. Samuel said, “These are the rights of a king: He will draft your sons, make them serve on his chariots and horses, and make them run ahead of his chariots. He will appoint them to be his officers over 1,000 or over 50 soldiers, to plow his ground and harvest his crops, and to make weapons and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters and have them make perfumes, cook, and bake. He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and wine and give it to his aids and officials. He will take your male and female slaves, your best cattle, and your donkeys for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks. In addition, you will be his servants. “When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. The Lord will not answer you when that day comes.” But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, “No, we want a king! Then we, too, will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us, lead us out {to war}, and fight our battles.” When Samuel heard everything the people had to say, he reported it privately to the Lord. The Lord told him, “Listen to them, and give them a king.” Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Go {back} to your own cities.” 1 Sam 8:7-22 (GW)

In spite of all these warnings the people still wished to be ruled by a king. Their reasoning was the king would fight all their battles for them so they would not have to. Is that not the state of America today? Is it not true that far too many are seeking HELP from the Government, too many rely on the king to fight their battles for them. They reason they should not have to face any adversity because it is the government’s job to take care of us. Too many feel that the government should take care of all their concerns. This comes at a great cost, that of enslavement and lose of identity. We are fast becoming a dependent nation, a slave nation, and not an independent one. Just like the Israelites of old we too are starting to look like all the other nations around us. Instead of being that beacon of hope for the world, our light is fading fast and growing eerily dim.

Our problems are not because he have an elected government. Our problem is we have elected to be governed by a king and not the King of kings and Lord of lords. We have elected to reject Christ and God’s ways for an established kingdom made in the image of other nations. We have gone the way of Israel of old. In forgetting God, we have chosen instead to be governed by the dictates of man and thus we have reaped what we have sown. We have forced God out of our political process and in the process we have replaced Him with those who have no moral compass, who seek to enrich themselves as they enslave the populace.

However, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear {their prayer} from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their country. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (GW)

There is hope however. If those of us who are Christian, and have a relationship with God, would repent of our disinterest in governmental affairs, acknowledge that our nation has strayed from God, sincerely seek once again to be ruled by God and involve Him in our life and decisions, turn from our wicked ways, then God will hear from heaven and forgive our sins and heal our land. It is up to those of us who believe God and His word. We have for too long remained silent while the nation’s moral fiber continued to decline. Slave or free, rich or poor, life or death, the chose is ours to make or forsake. Either way we make a choice. Choose to do nothing and we become as nothing. Choose instead to obey God and seek His face, and desire to do things His way, and we reap instead life and health, blessings instead of curses, hope to replace despair.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Psalm 33:10a (GW)

And if it seems evil to you to be the servants of the Lord, make the decision this day whose servants you will be: Joshua 24:15a (BBE)

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

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November issue of “Pop Goes the Gospel” Blog Carnival

Allen Frederick 3 Comments

Welcome to the November, 2008 edition of pop goes the gospel.I had to post this a day late because Blog Carnival was having some maintenance done on their servers when I attempted to access the Carnivals managers page. Anyway a little late but well worth it. This month I had many excellent submissions to “Pop Goes the Gospel”, several from the same author, I chose the best of the submissions and encourage those who posted several posts to this carnival to post again to next month’s edition. I try not to post multiple entries from the same blogger so as not to give more coverage to any one blog. I will certainly include additional articles in later editions if you resubmit them.
SO WITHOUT ADDITIONAL DELAY LET US GET ON WITH THE CARNIVAL!

IN Church Life

Tammy Riggs presents Do you love me more than these? posted at Riggs Report – On to Andahuaylas, saying, “A challenge to examine your priorities and service.” A simple straight forward word to the church to examine our motives and see if we “Love Him more than these”

andriel presents Word of Faith: The Demotion of God posted at ReturningKing.com, saying, “Wolves in Wool: Creeps in The Church, is the title of this series on false teachers and false doctrines. This study will be updated weekly, so be sure to subscribe for updates.” andriel submitted several posts from his blog and I only included this one in this issue. I encourage andriel to submit subsequent posts to later editions of the blog carnival. Andriel takes on the Word of faith preachers in this article and blogcast. Check it out.

Trevor Watkinson presents Prayer and Fasting posted at SaveYourSweat.com Blog, saying, “How prayer and fasting can change your life.” Trevor submitted two articles to this blog carnival and I chose to include this one. His blog covers the gambit of self-improvement using biblical principles. This one on prayer and fasting is well worth the read. It is good medicine to deny ourselves certain pleasures in order to find a closer relationship with God.

Yvette Nietzen presents Supernatural Prison Break . posted at Fresh Wind Ministries, Int´lYvette, a frequent poster has submitted a good post on Paul and Silas’s prison break. No it is not taken from the Television show of the same name but it is a good article. Thank you Yvette.

In Culture

Angelawd presents Shopgirl gets over herself posted at angelawd, saying, “Even the most humble tasks can bring us closer to Jesus’s attitude.” How scrubbing the urinal taught humility.

Daniel Partin presents Defending The Shack: Black Madonna posted at Prophet For Hire: A blog for those seeking relationship with God.Daniel writes an interesting review of the Book the Black Madonna. I really can neither endorse or pan the book because I have not read it. However I found Daniels review of a review of the book interesting to read. I am not sure I wish to actually read the book The Black Madonna however.

Nathan Creitz presents Organic and Sustainable Christianity posted at Nathan Creitz.Putting feet to our faith. Taking action when action is presented to us is what I got from reading this post by Nathan.

The Traveler presents Statue of Liberty – history posted at Ellis Island – Statue of Liberty, saying, “Some history about the statue of liberty.” Everyone could use a refresher course on United States History so I allowed the Traveler to post this blog entry.

In Family

Tiffany Partin presents The Proof Is In The Pictures posted at Fathom Deep: Sounding the Depths of God.Pictorial display of Hurricane Ike’s effect on Bayview. Let us continue to pray for those effected by the Ire of Ike.

ChristianPF presents Encouraging Bible Verses for the Financial Crisis posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “What the Bible has to say about the financial crisis” What more needs to be said?

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of pop goes the gospel using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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