Those of us who advocate for one man-one woman marriage, who believe in God and what His word says, have rights too. ... a right to be heard, a right to stand up for our Christian beliefs.
Posted today on Baptist Press is the following article written by Michael Foust, BP assistant editor.
Despite pressure, Miss California stays true to Christian beliefs
LAS VEGAS-- It had all the elements of good TV drama, especially in 2009 America: a gay celebrity blogger asking a California beauty queen contestant a question about "gay marriage" during the Miss USA pageant, hosted in anything-goes Las Vegas.
Miss California, though, stood by her Christian beliefs, and some are wondering if it cost her the crown.
Carrie Prejean, 21, told a nationwide TV audience Sunday she believed marriage should be between a man and a woman. She eventually finished runner-up to Miss North Carolina, but she says she has no regrets about her answer.
The fact that Prejean is from California -- where the high court legalized "gay marriage" last year only to have voters reverse that ruling by passing Proposition 8 -- adds to the controversy surrounding her comments.
"By having to answer that question in front of a national audience, God was testing my character and faith," she told Fox News. "I'm glad I stayed true to myself."
She told NBC's "Today" show, "It's not about being politically correct. For me, it was being biblically correct." She added, regarding her missed opportunity to win the crown, "It wasn't what God wanted for my life that night."
Prejean is a student at San Diego Christian College in El Cajon just outside San Diego and a volunteer at Shadow Mountain Community Church's International Ministry Center, where she helps refugees learn English, the Christian Examiner reported. Shadow Mountain is a Southern Baptist church where popular TV and radio minister David Jeremiah is pastor. The Examiner reported Prejean is studying to become an elementary school special education teacher.
She has received a host of criticism and praise. Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who is homosexual and as one of 12 judges was randomly picked to ask the question, posted a video on his website in which he called her a "dumb [expletive]" with "half a brain." He also said she "alienated so many people."
Chris Clark, pastor of East Clairemont Southern Baptist Church in San Diego, applauded Prejean. He helped lead the effort in his area to get Christians behind Prop 8.
"She was extremely courageous, especially considering the venue. You're looking Perez Hilton in the eye and telling him, no offense, but this is what I believe. That is bold," Clark told Baptist Press. "That is exactly what we need more of, and she did it in a kind way and a very respectful way. She was great."
Mitch Fisk, vice president for enrollment and marketing at San Diego Christian College, said he was impressed by Prejean's character after overhearing a conversation she had with her adviser, whose office is just a few doors down from his. The conservation came last year after she had won the Miss California title.
"Keep in mind that this conversation took place with no one else around. The consistent themes were, 'I want to do what I can to have an impact' and 'I want to do what I can to take advantage of the situation that God has placed me in to have an impact,'" he told BP.
During the broadcast Hilton asked: "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?"
Prejean responded, "I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite[-sex] marriage. And you know what? I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman -- no offense to anybody out there -- but that's how I was raised and ... I think that it should be between a man and a woman."
The crowd seemed to like her answer, and its applause was louder than the boos.
Keith Lewis, co-executive director of Miss California USA/Teen USA, submitted a statement to Hilton's web site in which he said he was "personally saddened and hurt" that Prejean "believes marriage rights belong only to a man and a woman." Lewis added, "Religious beliefs have no place in politics in the Miss CA family."
Hilton himself was quoted as saying Prejean "lost because of that question." Known for his bombastic statements, he said that if Prejean had won, "I would have gone up on stage, snatched that tiara off her head and run out the door." As one of the 12 TV judges, Hilton's score figured into deciding who won. The scores on the questions and answers, though, are not released publicly.
Ron Prentice, chairman of ProtectMarriage.com -- the official campaign behind Prop 8 -- released a statement thanking Prejean for "speaking her mind in support of traditional marriage."
"She represented the silent majority in America and expressed a point of view that over 7 million California voters also expressed just last November," Prentice said. "... Thank you, Miss California, for knowing the truth about marriage and standing up for it, even when you knew that your honest answer may hinder your chances for the crown of Miss USA."
Prentice further said that the "outcry from some activists in the gay community over Ms. Prejean's comments are indicative of how far they will go to force their same-sex marriage agenda on society."
Prejean told radio host Billy Bush that her sister "is a gay rights activist" who has "been to many, many rallies." But Prejean said her sister was proud of her because she stood up for her beliefs. Matt Lauer of NBC's Today show asked her if she wished she had given a more politically correct middle-of-the-road answer, which Hilton said she should have done.
"That goes against what I stand for," she said of such an answer. "And when I'm asked a specific question, I'm going to give a specific answer. I'm not going to stand in the middle."
Also posted today on SaveCalifornia.com ,
a leading West Coast nonprofit, nonpartisan organization representing children and families, is the article:
Homosexual Activist Judge Displays Intolerance, Hatred
and Retaliation Against Miss California Carrie Prejean
Sacramento, CALIF.-- A leading West Coast pro-family organization is defending Miss California Carrie Prejean, who was unfairly discriminated against and denied the Miss USA crown because of homosexual activist judge Perez Hilton (real name Mario Lavandeira), who targeted Carrie as a contestant and publicly called her “a dumb b****” with “half a brain.”
“Why does an unjust judge get a free pass for retaliating against and openly slurring a beauty pageant contestant?” asked Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com and SaveAmerica.com. “The bad guy here is homosexual activist Perez Hilton, who never should have been allowed to be a judge. Carrie Prejean was unfairly discriminated against and viciously punished just because she knows and believes that marriage is reserved for a man and a woman.”
After Carrie was named first runner-up to Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton, Hilton recorded a video diatribe in which he said Carrie gave “the worst answer in pageant history," that “she lost because she’s a dumb b****!” and that she has “half a brain.” “Perez Hilton is showing the ugly face of the intolerant homosexual agenda, squashing everyone else who won’t bow down to immorality,” Thomasson said.
On this morning’s Today Show on NBC, Miss USA Judge Claudia Jordan admitted that “a few of the judges were very against her, they were bothered by her answer” because Carrie said “marriage should be for a man and a woman” in answer to Hilton’s question Sunday night.
Donald Trump, who, along with NBC Universal, owns the Miss Universe Organization, which produces the Miss USA pageant, said on The Today Show that Carrie’s answer “probably did cost her the crown.” Also on Today, Hilton said Carrie should have “left her politics and religion out” and said Miss USA is supposed to “make everyone feel welcome,” including homosexuals and atheists. But where is that in the Miss USA rules?
“This was a blatant miscarriage of justice,” said Thomasson. “The Miss USA rules explicitly state that judges should learn about the successes, goals and ambitions of the contestants. It doe not say judges should vote or rally others to vote based on their personal agreement or disagreement with young ladies’ answers to loaded questions.”
“Along with physical beauty, Carrie Prejean displayed character, poise, confidence and personality, which is exactly what the pageant says it’s looking for,” said Thomasson. “It is now suspect whether a homosexual can be a fair judge who puts aside his personal bias. It’s also doubtful that the Miss USA contest is a fair contest. To correct this serious problem, Donald Trump and NBC Universal should announce that Perez Hilton will never again be a Miss USA judge and that pageant judges must abide by the contest rules and not retaliate against contestants based on religion or politics.”
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Me, Journalism & God
I am a Christian.
I am a journalist.
Ever since I was a child I have had an interest in writing and in helping others - particularly along the lines of medicine.
Before I entered college I considered pursuing physical therapy. When I was in high school I volunteered as a candy striper at a local hospital. I enjoyed writing short stories and poetry.
After two years of college I determined my grades were not good enough to get me into a specialized field of medicine. Another year, I wasn't sure where to go. I lived in a secular world. I had no relationship with Jesus Christ, so there was no special calling to a chosen field - at least not one I was aware.
I selected journalism, but I took courses in fiction writing and poetry. I pursued journalism, yet I wasn't fully into it. I struggled with the courses offered and my abilities to grasp the meanings of all that was taught.
I graduated, receiving a B.A. in journalism.
I still wrote stories and poetry, still kept a journal, filling pages upon pages with my thoughts, desires, dreams, joys and sadnesses.
I sharpened my skills - learned advertising layout at weekly newspapers and printing companies. I discovered what I enjoyed and what I did not. I published a weekly newspaper for two years. I covered all aspects. I worked all ends. My weeks were often 100 hours rather than 40. It was tiring, often thankless. Yet I enjoyed it and I pushed on. I took picture after picture, covering sports, school events, school board and city council meetings.
I had no mentor. I never knew if what I was doing was right, fair. Yet I pushed on.
Most of my experience in journalism was obtained at weekly newspapers. Each place had a distinct way of doing things, so I was always learning something new.
In 1982, a new dimension was added - I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.
I moved from reporting the news on weeklies to becoming part of the daily newspaper. I moved away from reporting and photography to newsroom assistant to obituary editor.
I again became a publisher - for a few months I put together, wrote stories and sold ads for a senior citizen newsletter, in addition to my full-time job.
Time went by. I occasionally thought about writing news obituaries. I thought it was my heart's desire. I knocked on doors, but the opportunity never was realized. I knocked three times, always it was wait-and-see, always maybe, never Yes.
God gave me an idea for a Christian magazine. Originally considering a print format, it became a web presence. Window to Christian Ministries ... in Iowa was born in 2001. My first blog, In...Sight was added in 2004. My current blog, Journeys was started in 2008.
For over 20 years now I have edited obituaries. Sometimes I have considered it a ministry - a way to reach out to those who have lost loved ones. It is another avenue of the many facets of journalism.
The occupations we hold can be our chosen field or it can be a place of arrival that may become our chosen field. But not necessarily. Sometimes our occupations are merely jobs that we do day in and day out, with no thought as to where they might lead.
I chose journalism, principally because I enjoy writing. But I have not written, as in newspaper reporting, for many years.
But I do have a Web presence -- a Web site and blogs. So I am still a journalist.
And I am a Christian.
Do they go hand-in-hand?
This past week, on April 14, I attended a Christian Journalism Conference in Jefferson City, Mo. Sponsored by the Missouri Southern Baptist Convention and its publication arm, The Pathway, it was the first such event.
I chose to attend the conference with hopes I would gain some new insights as to my future as a Christian journalist/writer.
My first realization was that a Christian journalist and in Christian journalism, you can not be neutral. In secular journalism, it has always been about being objective vs. subjective, being fair, looking at all sides, reporting the facts, not falsehoods. In Christian journalism, it is the same, yet different. If you say you are neutral, then you are also saying you don't believe in God's word, that His truths don't mean anything to you. If you say you are subjective, then you are saying it is only your opinion, there is no truth or fact to what you report.
There is another way to consider, that of biblical objectivity. We must be willing to recognize certain fixed truths, such as God's word being the standard, according to Andy Chambers, vice president for Student Development and associate professor of Bible at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis. We must recognize and abide by why God says in His word as we interpret and report on the world around us.
A me-centered worldview fails to see this truth. Me-centered lives under false pretenses, false gods, false hopes. A Christian worldview knows the God of Abraham is the only true God, knows God is sovereign.
In pursuing a Christian worldview of journalism, Chambers said we must
(1) draw out the theological dimension of the news
(2) keep readers' spiritual needs in view as we research and report the news
and
(3) help readers see their need for a Savior.
We must keep in mind just whose we are. We must consider the fruits of the spirit in all of our dealings. As we report and write about others, we must be honest, fair, humble, patient, trustworthy, and so on. It must be God's platform that we are obedient to first and foremost.
"Does a story need to be told?" was posed by Will Hall, executive editor of Baptist Press. It is a question worth asking, as we seriously consider all aspects of a story we're thinking of writing for publication. Is it factual? Is it true? Will it harm another? Are we being fair?
When we profess to being Christian and a Christian journalist to boot, we MUST follow Biblical instruction all the time. Not haphazardly, not only when we think it is beneficial to us. If we follow that reasoning, we've fallen to a me-centered worldview and missed the mark. We need to hold ourselves up to a higher power and consider what Jesus would do in any activity we consider being a participant.
I think of the instructions in Psalm 37 -- "Trust in the Lord ... Do good .... feed on His faithfulness ... delight yourself in the Lord ... Commit your way to the Lord ... Rest in the Lord ... wait patient for Him ... Do not fret ... Cease from anger ... forsake wrath ... wait on the Lord ... keep His way..."
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)
We are to serve God at all times anywhere and everywhere, delight in Him. Even when inconvenient, when we're not where we want to be, when life is in turmoil. Even in the workplace.
"Delight yourself in the Lord" - seek my pleasure in You. Seek the desires of my heart in You, through prayer, Bible study, meditation, serving. When I continually follow through and am obedient to You and your word, your peace will settle in me and your desires for me will become part of me and those desires will be my desires, Your plans my plans.
God, His word and His ways are the focus and foundation of the Christian life.
"Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:5)
We can bloom and bear fruit wherever God places us, if we are committed to Him and His leadership.
Does He have a new plan for me?
I am a journalist.
Ever since I was a child I have had an interest in writing and in helping others - particularly along the lines of medicine.
Before I entered college I considered pursuing physical therapy. When I was in high school I volunteered as a candy striper at a local hospital. I enjoyed writing short stories and poetry.
After two years of college I determined my grades were not good enough to get me into a specialized field of medicine. Another year, I wasn't sure where to go. I lived in a secular world. I had no relationship with Jesus Christ, so there was no special calling to a chosen field - at least not one I was aware.
I selected journalism, but I took courses in fiction writing and poetry. I pursued journalism, yet I wasn't fully into it. I struggled with the courses offered and my abilities to grasp the meanings of all that was taught.
I graduated, receiving a B.A. in journalism.
I still wrote stories and poetry, still kept a journal, filling pages upon pages with my thoughts, desires, dreams, joys and sadnesses.
I sharpened my skills - learned advertising layout at weekly newspapers and printing companies. I discovered what I enjoyed and what I did not. I published a weekly newspaper for two years. I covered all aspects. I worked all ends. My weeks were often 100 hours rather than 40. It was tiring, often thankless. Yet I enjoyed it and I pushed on. I took picture after picture, covering sports, school events, school board and city council meetings.
I had no mentor. I never knew if what I was doing was right, fair. Yet I pushed on.
Most of my experience in journalism was obtained at weekly newspapers. Each place had a distinct way of doing things, so I was always learning something new.
In 1982, a new dimension was added - I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.
I moved from reporting the news on weeklies to becoming part of the daily newspaper. I moved away from reporting and photography to newsroom assistant to obituary editor.
I again became a publisher - for a few months I put together, wrote stories and sold ads for a senior citizen newsletter, in addition to my full-time job.
Time went by. I occasionally thought about writing news obituaries. I thought it was my heart's desire. I knocked on doors, but the opportunity never was realized. I knocked three times, always it was wait-and-see, always maybe, never Yes.
God gave me an idea for a Christian magazine. Originally considering a print format, it became a web presence. Window to Christian Ministries ... in Iowa was born in 2001. My first blog, In...Sight was added in 2004. My current blog, Journeys was started in 2008.
For over 20 years now I have edited obituaries. Sometimes I have considered it a ministry - a way to reach out to those who have lost loved ones. It is another avenue of the many facets of journalism.
The occupations we hold can be our chosen field or it can be a place of arrival that may become our chosen field. But not necessarily. Sometimes our occupations are merely jobs that we do day in and day out, with no thought as to where they might lead.
I chose journalism, principally because I enjoy writing. But I have not written, as in newspaper reporting, for many years.
But I do have a Web presence -- a Web site and blogs. So I am still a journalist.
And I am a Christian.
Do they go hand-in-hand?
This past week, on April 14, I attended a Christian Journalism Conference in Jefferson City, Mo. Sponsored by the Missouri Southern Baptist Convention and its publication arm, The Pathway, it was the first such event.
I chose to attend the conference with hopes I would gain some new insights as to my future as a Christian journalist/writer.
My first realization was that a Christian journalist and in Christian journalism, you can not be neutral. In secular journalism, it has always been about being objective vs. subjective, being fair, looking at all sides, reporting the facts, not falsehoods. In Christian journalism, it is the same, yet different. If you say you are neutral, then you are also saying you don't believe in God's word, that His truths don't mean anything to you. If you say you are subjective, then you are saying it is only your opinion, there is no truth or fact to what you report.
There is another way to consider, that of biblical objectivity. We must be willing to recognize certain fixed truths, such as God's word being the standard, according to Andy Chambers, vice president for Student Development and associate professor of Bible at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis. We must recognize and abide by why God says in His word as we interpret and report on the world around us.
A me-centered worldview fails to see this truth. Me-centered lives under false pretenses, false gods, false hopes. A Christian worldview knows the God of Abraham is the only true God, knows God is sovereign.
In pursuing a Christian worldview of journalism, Chambers said we must
(1) draw out the theological dimension of the news
(2) keep readers' spiritual needs in view as we research and report the news
and
(3) help readers see their need for a Savior.
We must keep in mind just whose we are. We must consider the fruits of the spirit in all of our dealings. As we report and write about others, we must be honest, fair, humble, patient, trustworthy, and so on. It must be God's platform that we are obedient to first and foremost.
"Does a story need to be told?" was posed by Will Hall, executive editor of Baptist Press. It is a question worth asking, as we seriously consider all aspects of a story we're thinking of writing for publication. Is it factual? Is it true? Will it harm another? Are we being fair?
When we profess to being Christian and a Christian journalist to boot, we MUST follow Biblical instruction all the time. Not haphazardly, not only when we think it is beneficial to us. If we follow that reasoning, we've fallen to a me-centered worldview and missed the mark. We need to hold ourselves up to a higher power and consider what Jesus would do in any activity we consider being a participant.
I think of the instructions in Psalm 37 -- "Trust in the Lord ... Do good .... feed on His faithfulness ... delight yourself in the Lord ... Commit your way to the Lord ... Rest in the Lord ... wait patient for Him ... Do not fret ... Cease from anger ... forsake wrath ... wait on the Lord ... keep His way..."
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)
We are to serve God at all times anywhere and everywhere, delight in Him. Even when inconvenient, when we're not where we want to be, when life is in turmoil. Even in the workplace.
"Delight yourself in the Lord" - seek my pleasure in You. Seek the desires of my heart in You, through prayer, Bible study, meditation, serving. When I continually follow through and am obedient to You and your word, your peace will settle in me and your desires for me will become part of me and those desires will be my desires, Your plans my plans.
God, His word and His ways are the focus and foundation of the Christian life.
"Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:5)
We can bloom and bear fruit wherever God places us, if we are committed to Him and His leadership.
Does He have a new plan for me?
Monday, March 30, 2009
Being a Christian
Are you a Christian?
The first time the word "Christian" is used in the Holy Scriptures is in Acts 11: 26. The disciple Barnabas traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch, a distance of 300 miles, where he had heard the Good News was being preached everywhere. Barnabas then traveled to Tarsus to find Paul and together they returned to Antioch, where they preached the Gospel for a year.
"And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch."
What does being a Christian mean to you? Does it tell others who Jesus is? Are you hungry for His word? Do your actions bring honor or shame to Christ's name?
"Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God." (1 Peter 4: 16)
A Christian is not someone who merely follows the rules and regulations of the Catholic Church handed down by the Pope, or attends church or belongs to a particular denomination.
Being a Christian is a big responsibility. We shouldn't treat it lightly.
A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the person.
"As fellow believers, we are co-laborers with Christ to spread the Gospel," says Phil Winfield, senior pastor of Grace Church, Des Moines.
When we are one with Him, the Son of Man, "we cannot fail," said Winfield, who presented the morning message Saturday, March 28, at an evangelism conference in Cedar Rapids. His message was from Matthew 13: 36-43 where Jesus is explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares.
Verses 37-43 follow: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteousness will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
"The very gates of hell will not hinder the word of God," Winfield says.
God is mightier than any act of Satan, and when we are one with Jesus, we will never fail.
Jesus Christ is He, the Son of Man, who sows the Good News into the hearts of mankind. Some receive and grow and so do not. Those who do are the good seeds, the sons of the kingdom, the workers, the co-laborers. Those who do not are the tares, the sons of the wicked one, Satan.
God places workers where He wants them. It may not be where we think, but our ways are not God's ... we are imperfect. Only God... only Jesus is perfect. God knows where the best place is for us.
If we profess to be a Christian, a follower of Christ, then we must pursue as God leads, we must grow wherever the Lord puts us.
Winfield noted that only those who are fruitful ... growing and reaping ... may be sent, moved, transplanted elsewhere.
If we're not being fruitful where we are, moving elsewhere will not accomplish it either. We may want to move, we may think because job opportunities are lacking where we are we need to move, but if we are only to move when God says so, then our only recourse is to wait. No matter what.
Sometimes, Winfield said, even when we are fruitful, God wants us to stay put.
Sometimes we can follow Christ and be fruitful, yet still have a door shut because God doesn't want us to go down that particular path. He has something else in mind. We have to trust that He knows what is best for us. We have to believe. We have to have Faith.
In Acts 16: 6-10 the apostle Paul was instructed by the Holy Spirit not to go to certain places on his second missionary journey. Verses 6 and 7 say, "Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them."
We must follow Jesus, not our feelings.
When we become a Christian, a follower of Christ, a believer in Christ, God's purpose for us becomes clearer ... to love Him with all of our being, to trust and follow Him wherever He leads, to be obedient to Him alone.
Being a Christian means the promise given in Romans 8: 28 is ours to claim. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
Do you claim it?
Are you a Christian?
The first time the word "Christian" is used in the Holy Scriptures is in Acts 11: 26. The disciple Barnabas traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch, a distance of 300 miles, where he had heard the Good News was being preached everywhere. Barnabas then traveled to Tarsus to find Paul and together they returned to Antioch, where they preached the Gospel for a year.
"And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch."
What does being a Christian mean to you? Does it tell others who Jesus is? Are you hungry for His word? Do your actions bring honor or shame to Christ's name?
"Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God." (1 Peter 4: 16)
A Christian is not someone who merely follows the rules and regulations of the Catholic Church handed down by the Pope, or attends church or belongs to a particular denomination.
Being a Christian is a big responsibility. We shouldn't treat it lightly.
A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the person.
"As fellow believers, we are co-laborers with Christ to spread the Gospel," says Phil Winfield, senior pastor of Grace Church, Des Moines.
When we are one with Him, the Son of Man, "we cannot fail," said Winfield, who presented the morning message Saturday, March 28, at an evangelism conference in Cedar Rapids. His message was from Matthew 13: 36-43 where Jesus is explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares.
Verses 37-43 follow: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteousness will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
"The very gates of hell will not hinder the word of God," Winfield says.
God is mightier than any act of Satan, and when we are one with Jesus, we will never fail.
Jesus Christ is He, the Son of Man, who sows the Good News into the hearts of mankind. Some receive and grow and so do not. Those who do are the good seeds, the sons of the kingdom, the workers, the co-laborers. Those who do not are the tares, the sons of the wicked one, Satan.
God places workers where He wants them. It may not be where we think, but our ways are not God's ... we are imperfect. Only God... only Jesus is perfect. God knows where the best place is for us.
If we profess to be a Christian, a follower of Christ, then we must pursue as God leads, we must grow wherever the Lord puts us.
Winfield noted that only those who are fruitful ... growing and reaping ... may be sent, moved, transplanted elsewhere.
If we're not being fruitful where we are, moving elsewhere will not accomplish it either. We may want to move, we may think because job opportunities are lacking where we are we need to move, but if we are only to move when God says so, then our only recourse is to wait. No matter what.
Sometimes, Winfield said, even when we are fruitful, God wants us to stay put.
Sometimes we can follow Christ and be fruitful, yet still have a door shut because God doesn't want us to go down that particular path. He has something else in mind. We have to trust that He knows what is best for us. We have to believe. We have to have Faith.
In Acts 16: 6-10 the apostle Paul was instructed by the Holy Spirit not to go to certain places on his second missionary journey. Verses 6 and 7 say, "Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them."
We must follow Jesus, not our feelings.
When we become a Christian, a follower of Christ, a believer in Christ, God's purpose for us becomes clearer ... to love Him with all of our being, to trust and follow Him wherever He leads, to be obedient to Him alone.
Being a Christian means the promise given in Romans 8: 28 is ours to claim. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
Do you claim it?
Are you a Christian?
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