Never Leave Early

I was in the process of posting this information about a minor league game we went to see last Tuesday, the day the Black Forest fire started. By the time we got home, the fire news made baseball seem very trivial, which, in the grand scheme of things, it is. However, now that the fire is 75% contained and many who evacuated have been allowed to return home, this seems like a good time to post it.

Every time I see a video of Kirk Gibson's home run in the 1988 World Series, I see many cars leaving the parking lot behind right field, as people who spent the money to go to a World Series game decided to beat the traffic, and in so doing, they missed one of the great moments in the history of baseball.

On June 11, we went to see the Salt Lake City Bees play at our Colorado Springs Sky Sox (AAA). It is very nice to have a minor league team playing just four miles from home. We ended up seeing what may have been the most amazing baseball game I have ever seen.

After the top of the sixth, it was 9-1 in favor of SLC. Even though I have often said it is not a good idea to leave a baseball game before it is over, I actually entertained the thought of leaving, but we decided to see what would happen in the bottom of the sixth. Wouldn't you know it - the Sky Sox scored 10 runs, including a three run homer and a grand slam, and took the lead 11-9. They added four more runs in the eighth inning and won 15-9.

The 6,500 foot altitude does help the offense. The ball carries for more distance, and breaking balls don’t break as much as at lower altitude. The dimensions of the stadium, especially the 350 feet down each foul line, are somewhat larger than many major league stadiums to take this into account.

Moral of the story: Don't leave a baseball game early. As Yogi Berra would say, "It ain't over 'til it's over." Of course, he also said, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it," and his classic - "I didn't really say all the things I said."

The Indictment – Hosea 4-6

Pastor Jeff Anderson of Grace Bible Church in Colorado Springs preaches the Word of God without compromise. In this sermon, he emphasizes that it is much more important to read and study the Bible than it is to read and study about the Bible. To hear this entire sermon, click here.

 

“…My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because they have rejected knowledge...My people ask counsel from their wooden idols…”

 

…True intimacy with God and knowledge of God happens because of knowledge of His Word. Did you know that you cannot have intimacy with God apart from His revelation of Himself in His Word? We’re living in a day when there’s all sorts of mysticism, and everyone’s wanting to draw close to God. They want dreams, they want revelations, they want special “icky pooey” feelings. They want some sort of experience that’s going on, they want to have knowledge of God and intimacy, but they never, rarely do they want to find it in His Word…You cannot know God if you do not know the Bible. If you don’t know His Word, if you’re not reading it, if you’re not memorizing it, if you’re not studying it, if you’re not meditating upon it, if you’re not giving yourself to the study of Scripture, you cannot know God. It’s as simple as that….

 

…We are living in a day in which there is no knowledge of the Word of God…we are living in a biblically illiterate day…We’re living in a day when people do not know their Bible, and because they don’t know their Bible, it is very clear that we do not know God…

 

…as a nation we have forgotten God to where the Word of God isn’t even preached in our churches…Stop reading Christian books and start reading the Bible. Stop going to all of your Christian book stores and just go to the Scripture and let it permeate every part of you. Give yourself to knowing God through knowing His Word…

 

For more by Pastor Jeff Anderson, click here.

The Second Amendment, Concealed Carry, and Truth

The debate over the Second Amendment is seemingly an endless one. Even though there are those who try to make it mean something other than what it says, it is really not difficult to understand.

 

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

 

I once heard a talk show host explain the meaning as follows:  “If someone is a member of the military, he or she has the right to bear arms while on duty.” This is quite obviously an absurd interpretation of the text of the amendment, because it reverses the actual meaning, and it makes the Second Amendment different from the rest of the Bill of Rights, which is a listing of the individual rights of citizens. The Supreme Court has ruled the obvious:  the Second Amendment is an individual right. The amendment clearly means that the people have a right to keep (own) and bear (carry) arms, because it can be necessary to form a militia (made up of people bringing their own arms) in order to secure freedom. That’s what it says. That’s what it means.

 

A year ago, my wife and I moved from California to Colorado, a free state. Yes, I am aware that a number of those in positions of authority in Colorado are attacking gun rights in many ways. All too often, those who opine the loudest, and also those who make the laws, are those who know nothing about guns. Vice President Joe Biden has offered advice, specifically for women,  that a shotgun is much easier to handle than an AR-15. Check out this video to see how ridiculous this advice is.

 

Some of the things our politicians are attempting to do are clearly motivated by politics rather than reality, such as declaring “gun-free zones” in certain places. Anyone with any measure of common sense knows that another name for a “gun-free zone” is a “shooting gallery.” Most mass shootings occur in “gun-free zones.” One does not have to be the proverbial “rocket scientist” in order to know that criminals do not, by definition, obey laws, and anyone who wants to shoot a bunch of people is going to find a soft target area where there is little, if any, chance that anyone will shoot back. One Colorado lawmaker even said that if “high capacity magazines” are outlawed, those who own such magazines will shoot all of the bullets out of them, and then they will be worthless and will have to be thrown away. That has to be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. That’s like saying that a car has to be scrapped after it runs out of gas. I guess we’d better plan on really big gas tanks. Of course, the new regulations concerning magazines have accomplished nothing other than driving a highly successful business, along with its hundreds of jobs, out of the state.

 

Regardless of the politically-driven naivety (or perhaps “lunacy” is a better word) of some lawmakers, Colorado is still a breath of fresh air (in more ways than one) compared to California. In Colorado, one may carry a handgun openly or inside a vehicle with no permit, and concealed carry permits are not difficult to obtain, since Colorado issues permits on a “shall issue” basis. In California it was nearly impossible to keep one’s constitutional rights and obtain a concealed carry permit. Of course, not too many criminals buy guns legally or bother to get concealed carry permits, so the oppressive laws only work against those whose lifestyle is such that they obey the laws. In Colorado, a concealed carry permit cannot be denied unless a background check proves someone is a felon, so almost everyone who applies is granted a permit. Regardless of the paranoia some have about guns, it is a much more secure feeling to know that almost anywhere we go, there are very likely quite a few armed citizens present. This is security, not danger. Statistics bear out that more guns do not make the situation more dangerous, regardless of what some politicians try to say. We need to remember that many politicians are agenda-driven and couldn’t care less about truth, reality, facts, or statistics.

 

In reality, even a concealed carry permit is an “infringement” on the Second Amendment. By getting the permit, we are getting permission to exercise that which is already our constitutional right. Notice that the Second Amendment does not say “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be taken away,” but rather that it shall not even be “infringed” upon. I have great respect for the few “constitutional carry” states, where the Second Amendment is the only gun permit a citizen needs. This is as it should be everywhere in the country. The following states have adopted constitutional carry:  Vermont, Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming, Arkansas, parts of Idaho, and parts of Montana. Several other states are considering it. Regardless of the infringements on the Second Amendment that exist in various places, I still consider myself blessed to live in the United States of America, where freedom was purchased at a dear price, even the freedom of those who oppose the very tools that brought about that freedom.

 

There is no doubt that the Bible fully justifies defense of self and the helpless. That is another topic for another time, but it does not take long to find the many passages that teach this. Several years ago, I knew someone who said he would never own a firearm, and that if someone broke into his house with intent to do harm to him or his family, he would talk to them and convince them not to do anything foolish. This is just a bit naïve. As long as we live in a world occupied by sinners – that’s all of us – there will be a necessity to be aware that some will allow evil to run their lives, and such people will harm others. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

The Real Source of Evil and Violence

by Kathryn Krummrey, RN

 

As we Americans awake one more time to another "morning after killings" experience, we must acknowledge some real truths. Evil, violence, and terror are found in the hearts and minds of people, not in the objects used to commit their evil.

 

In recent weeks and months we have had people hurt, maimed, and killed by various objects. There is nothing inherently evil in household goods that can comprise a bomb, knives, cars, ball bats, in strong arms and hands that are placed on small, weaker bodies of little children, or even in guns. The problem is not with these objects, but rather with the heart, mind and thought processes of the human being using these objects.

 

All caring American citizens want this terror in our land to stop! We want to send our kids off to school or to public events without the fear of terror and the carnage it can bring to our lives. We want the "old America" back when evil and violence were not invading our shores on a sporadic but regular basis.

 

So we must look back to what has changed in the heart of our people, our culture, and the way we think. In the last several decades we have changed dramatically in the way we think about the crucial values and morals of our society. In our "enlightenment" we became self focused people rather than family focused people.

 

Keeping the family unit strong and nurturing the next young generation dropped dramatically on our list of priorities. We sent our kids a message with our new laws and our new trends. Marriages are easily disbanded if it gets too hard. Human beings are only of value if they are wanted. We can also easily get rid of things we don't want and put a nice name on it, like being pro-choice.

 

We have outlawed the very things that gave stability, strength, and hope to Americans in tough times. Things like the Ten Commandments that told us how to honor God and our fellow man have been banished from our public places as if they were too dangerous for our kids to know. The freedom to acknowledge and call out to our God for his help at our schools was done away... And this is when evil came in to fill this void in our land.

 

We have raised a generation of people without the influence of God and what He values in their life. This is the true definition of evil; a total absence of God and His loving standards of conduct for His people. Societies of people are not healthy when there is a void in their spirit and soul. They fill this void with self serving evil rather than good for others.

 

I fear that we could now be on the receiving the end of some of our choices as a nation. Could this be one of the true sources of evil and violence in America? There is hope if we will turn back to the One who offers the real cure. Yet, I fear we may be too progressive and enlightened to do that.

The Significance of the Resurrection

by Ron Livesay

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most significant event in all of history. Without it, we have no Gospel, no salvation, and no hope.

Scoffers make light of it and call it a myth or a fairy tale. They do this because they actually understand its significance, and the truth of the resurrection must be undermined if Christianity is to be trivialized. Even some who claim the name of “Christian” minimize its importance. Some believe the resurrection was only a “spiritual” resurrection, not a bodily one. In other words, the body of Jesus is still in the grave, but He rose in a figurative sense to give us hope of a better life, or some such nonsense. Others will say that the resurrection is “only a doctrine, and after all, doctrine is divisive and unimportant. We need to emphasize unity, not doctrine.” This idea is very dangerous. Without biblical doctrine, there can be no truth, and Christianity has no foundation. It is reduced to opinion based on feeling. Such foolishness is typical of modern-day false Christianity.

When I was teaching at a Christian school in Temecula, CA, I had a student in my junior Bible class who was a Muslim. Although he was not a Christian, he was a very good and knowledgeable Bible student and got an “A” in my class. The class met the last period of the day, and he stayed after school many times – for a while it was almost daily – to discuss the Bible. Sometimes he would stay five minutes and sometimes he would stay up to half an hour. We had many good discussions of Scripture.

One day he said the following: “Mr. Livesay, I have to give you this – if the resurrection really happened, then Christianity is true.” He understood the significance of the resurrection. Christianity stands or falls based on the truthfulness of the resurrection. If it really happened, Christianity is absolutely true. If it did not happen, Christianity is a hoax.

My student was quick to add his opinion that “of course, the resurrection didn’t really happen, because Jesus didn’t really die on the cross.” He told me he believed in The Gospel of Barnabas, but that he rejected its teaching that Judas died on the cross instead of Jesus. Instead, he believed that the individual who actually died on the cross was one of Jesus’ brothers, but he offered no proof for this other than his own opinion. I pointed out that it didn’t make sense that one of His half-brothers would have taken His place just so Jesus could claim to have been raised from the dead to prove He was the Messiah, especially since His brothers did not believe in Him until after the resurrection. He thought about it for a minute, and said, “I think you got me on that one.”

The real point here is that my Muslim student and friend actually understood the significance of the resurrection far more than it is understood by many professing Christians. The Scriptures make this significance very clear. “Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up – if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead…" (I Corinthians 15:12-20, NKJV).

Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That is a fact of history, absolutely proven and utterly impervious to criticism. Regardless of all the dishonest skepticism that has been thrown at it, we can be confident that “…now Christ is risen from the dead…” and Christianity is validated.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

by Ron Livesay

 

Christianity stands alone among the “world religions” for two very important reasons. First of all, we Christians have a God who loves us. The majority of the people in this world worship gods who are angry and must be appeased, while our God, the Creator of all things, loves us, cares for us, and shows His grace to us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, NKJV)

Second, we have a risen Savior rather than a dead prophet. “But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” (Matthew 28:5-6, NKJV) Our Lord Jesus Christ has defeated death, the thing that all of mankind fears, and He has made salvation a reality. His resurrection validates Christianity, the Gospel, and the Bible in its entirety. It is utter foolishness to reject Him, when his miraculous resurrection, the event that validates all truth, has been established beyond question.

The resurrection is a more solid historical fact, based on eyewitnesses and documentation, than many other facts that people believe without question. Very few would doubt that Ben Franklin flew a kite with a key on it, that George Washington crossed the Delaware, or that Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. Why do we believe these things? We believe them because there were eyewitnesses, and the events were documented and are now in the history books. Yet, many events found in history books are less provable historically than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was seen alive after his death by many individuals and groups, one of which was larger than five hundred, and much documentation has been written attesting to the facts surrounding His resurrection.

It is interesting that this event is left out of history books, while many other far less established events are included. The reason is obvious. Men do not want to accept this truth, because it validates all of God's truth, and that places great responsibility on humanity to respond appropriately to that truth. It is much easier to be intellectually dishonest about the resurrection and relegate it to merely being “religious belief,” while claiming it is some kind of violation of the so-called “separation of church and state” to allow this truth to be taught and accepted as fact. It often boils down to the fact that many people make a deliberate choice to believe what they want to believe, regardless of the truth.

Truth is consistent with the facts. Certain historical events are factual, based on the standards for establishment of historicity, even though they are rejected by many who do not want to believe them.

· Irrefutable historical fact: Jesus Christ walked the earth.

· Irrefutable historical fact: Jesus Christ was crucified and died.

· Irrefutable historical fact: Jesus Christ rose again from the dead.

No amount of hiding the truth on the part of those who write history will ever change the facts. The fact of the resurrection absolutely establishes the truth of all of the Scripture and the validity of Christianity and the Gospel. Many people choose not to believe the truth, because it requires something of them. Anyone who does so is only fooling himself, and that at his peril.

The great message of Christianity is that the God who created all things, the God who loves us, gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins, and that He not only died for us, He defeated death forever by His resurrection. God does not ask us to feel anything or to have an emotional experience, although some do. He only asks us to have simple, childlike faith in Him and what He has already done for us. When all is said and done, all human endeavor and all human wisdom will evaporate into ashes, and the one important issue will be each individual’s answer to the question asked so long ago by Pilate during the trial of Jesus. “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22, NKJV)

Pastor Jeff Anderson preaches Titus 1:10-16

Pastor Jeff Anderson from Grace Bible Church in Colorado Springs preaching in chapel at The Master's Seminary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYlt7KutW2U&list=FLcIy5pr74spnT1fbrl-2Kfw&index=1