Yada Yada Yada, Now go work-out!
JULY 24, 2015 ~ DENISECOVENTRY
Sometimes there is an unusually large space between what we know makes us feel good, powerful, healthy and then our actions.  What?

Why is it that when we begin to take a closer look at what we are eating and start to make changes, and we have every intention to add a work out, but after the entire week as gone by…well it did not happen?

Lets peel back the cover on this one and take a closer look.

via Yada Yada Yada, Now go work-out! | denisecoventry.

I was 14 years old when I was forced into prostitution. Like many teens at that age, finding my own identity and defying my parents were top on my list. So when a man came into my life and showered me with attention and listened to me when I complained about my parents, I did not think twice that he was ten years my senior. After all, he said I was mature for my age and told me I understood him better than anyone his own age. Little did I know, he was laying down the seeds of manipulation. It did not matter what my parents said, to me they did not understand me and he was the only one that “got me”. After six months, I thought I loved him, at least that is what he told me, so I did what I thought my heart was telling me and ran away to be with him. We ended up in Cleveland, Ohio. He told me we were going to meet the rest of the family.

via Enslaved in America: Sex Trafficking in the United States – Women’s Funding NetworkWomen’s Funding Network.

Dr. Turek will be our guest on the Pastor of Pump Friday, July 24. Check it out here

Dr. Frank Turek is a dynamic speaker and award-winning author or coauthor of four books: Stealing from God:  Why Atheists Need God to make their Case, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, Correct, Not Politically Correct and Legislating Morality. As the President of CrossExamined.org, Frank presents powerful and entertaining evidence for Christianity at churches, high schools and at secular college campuses that often begin hostile to his message. He has also debated several prominent atheists including Christopher Hitchens and David Silverman, president of American Atheists.

Frank hosts an hour-long TV program each week called I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist that is broadcast Wednesday nights on DirecTV Channel 378 (the NRB Network). His radio program called CrossExamined with Frank Turek airs on 122 stations every Saturday morning at 10 a.m. eastern and is available continuously on the free CrossExamined App.

Frank is widely featured guest in the media as a leading apologetics expert and cultural commentator. He has appeared on hundreds of radio programs and many top TV programs including: The O’Reilly Factor, Hannity and Colmes, Faith Under Fire, and Politically Incorrect. He also writes a column for Townhall.com.

A former aviator in the US Navy, Frank has a master’s degree from the George Washington University and a doctorate from Southern Evangelical Seminary.  He and his wife, Stephanie, are blessed with three grown sons.

via Dr. Frank Turek – Cross Examined – Christian Apologetic Ministry | Frank Turek | Christian Apologetics | Christian Apologetics Speakers.

1. How long have you believed that gay marriage is something to be celebrated?

2. What Bible verses led you to change your mind?

3. How would you make a positive case from Scripture that sexual activity between two persons of the same sex is a blessing to be celebrated?

4. What verses would you use to show that a marriage between two persons of the same sex can adequately depict Christ and the church?

5. Do you think Jesus would have been okay with homosexual behavior between consenting adults in a committed relationship?

6. If so, why did he reassert the Genesis definition of marriage as being one man and one woman?

7. When Jesus spoke against porneia what sins do you think he was forbidding?

8. If some homosexual behavior is acceptable, how do you understand the sinful “exchange” Paul highlights in Romans 1?

9. Do you believe that passages like 1 Corinthians 6:9 and Revelation 21:8 teach that sexual immorality can keep you out of heaven?

10. What sexual sins do you think they were referring to?

11. As you think about the long history of the church and the near universal disapproval of same-sex sexual activity, what do you think you understand about the Bible that Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, and Luther failed to grasp?

12. What arguments would you use to explain to Christians in Africa, Asia, and South America that their understanding of homosexuality is biblically incorrect and your new understanding of homosexuality is not culturally conditioned?

13. Do you think Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were motivated by personal animus and bigotry when they, for almost all of their lives, defined marriage as a covenant relationship between one man and one woman?

14. Do you think children do best with a mother and a father?

15. If not, what research would you point to in support of that conclusion?

16. If yes, does the church or the state have any role to play in promoting or privileging the arrangement that puts children with a mom and a dad?

17. Does the end and purpose of marriage point to something more than an adult’s emotional and sexual fulfillment?

18. How would you define marriage?

19. Do you think close family members should be allowed to get married?

20. Should marriage be limited to only two people?

21. On what basis, if any, would you prevent consenting adults of any relation and of any number from getting married?

22. Should there be an age requirement in this country for obtaining a marriage license?

23. Does equality entail that anyone wanting to be married should be able to have any meaningful relationship defined as marriage?

24. If not, why not?

25. Should your brothers and sisters in Christ who disagree with homosexual practice be allowed to exercise their religious beliefs without fear of punishment, retribution, or coercion?

26. Will you speak up for your fellow Christians when their jobs, their accreditation, their reputation, and their freedoms are threatened because of this issue?

27. Will you speak out against shaming and bullying of all kinds, whether against gays and lesbians or against Evangelicals and Catholics?

28. Since the evangelical church has often failed to take unbiblical divorces and other sexual sins seriously, what steps will you take to ensure that gay marriages are healthy and accord with Scriptural principles?

29. Should gay couples in open relationships be subject to church discipline?

30. Is it a sin for LGBT persons to engage in sexual activity outside of marriage?

31. What will open and affirming churches do to speak prophetically against divorce, fornication, pornography, and adultery wherever they are found?

32. If “love wins,” how would you define love?

33. What verses would you use to establish that definition?

34. How should obedience to God’s commands shape our understanding of love?

35. Do you believe it is possible to love someone and disagree with important decisions they make?

36. If supporting gay marriage is a change for you, has anything else changed in your understanding of faith?

37. As an evangelical, how has your support for gay marriage helped you become more passionate about traditional evangelical distinctives like a focus on being born again, the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the total trustworthiness of the Bible, and the urgent need to evangelize the lost?

38. What open and affirming churches would you point to where people are being converted to orthodox Christianity, sinners are being warned of judgment and called to repentance, and missionaries are being sent out to plant churches among unreached peoples?

39. Do you hope to be more committed to the church, more committed to Christ, and more committed to the Scriptures in the years ahead?

40. When Paul at the end of Romans 1 rebukes “those who practice such things” and those who “give approval to those who practice them,” what sins do you think he has in mind?

Food for thought, I hope. At the very least, something to chew on before swallowing everything the world and Facebook put on our plate.

Note: An earlier version of this post had the questions in paragraph format rather than enumerated. The content is still the same. Readers interested in studying what the Bible teaches about homosexuality may be interested in checking out my new book on that theme.

via 40 Questions for Christians Now Waving Rainbow Flags | TGC.

Its not often that I quote Beth Moore, I will admit – But whether it be because of my pride, arrogance or simply some differences in theology – I do love it when she is right! As you enjoy the festivities of Independence day- Please remember our message today – Jesus came to release you from the bondage of this world- You are commanded not to return to it – Just as our military warriors have fought to give you the freedom you enjoy in America  we remember always that Jesus suffered and died for your spiritual freedom – your eternal life.

-Holly T. Ashley

(Mrs. Pump).

These five obstacles are so prohibitive that if they are not addressed and removed the personal visitation of our King will be greatly hindered, and we will never walk in true freedom.

1. Unbelief

Unbelief is choosing not to believe God. I’m not talking about believing in God; I’m talking about believing what He says. We can believe in Christ, accepting the truth that He is the Son of God, and we can believe on Christ, receiving eternal salvation, yet fail to stand firm in belief and choose to find Him trustworthy day to day.

Unbelief is crippling. The steps we take forward with God we take through faith. Therefore, unbelief literally cripples our spiritual “walk,” casting huge obstacles in the way of a victorious life.

The good news is that if we’re willing to admit our lack of confidence in Him, Christ is more than willing to help us overcome our unbelief. Ask Him to do this for you. Also, spend time getting to know Him. The more you know Him, the more you will believe Him. Choose today to pursue Him and to walk in faith.

2. Pride

Pride is an obstacle to glorifying God because it is equivalent to taking God off the throne and putting ourselves in His place. We cannot honor Him when we are seeking honor for ourselves. And God will not share His glory with another, not even His own children.

Breaking free from pride involves two steps: (1) viewing pride as a vicious enemy and humility as a friend; and (2) humbling yourself before God. Proverbs 11:2 tells us, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Humility is not something we have until humbling ourselves is something we do. This does not mean we are to hate ourselves. It means we are to acknowledge who we are in relationship to God and bow to His majesty.

3. Idolatry

God wants us to find our satisfaction in Him rather than wasting our time and effort on things that cannot satisfy. But when we look to other sources for satisfaction, we are guilty of idolatry.

Dissatisfaction is not a terrible thing. It’s a God-thing. It’s only terrible when we don’t let it lead us to Christ. He wants us to find the only thing that will truly satiate our thirsty and hungry hearts.

To travel forward on the road to freedom, we must remove the obstacle of idolatry. But this is not always easy.

The first two obstacles to freedom—unbelief and pride—can be removed effectively by a matter of choice: we can choose to believe God, and we can choose to humble ourselves before God. Some of the idols in our lives, however, are more difficult to remove because they have been in place for years, and we find it difficult to let them go. We begin by choosing to recognize their existence and admitting their inability to keep us satisfied.

4. Prayerlessness

Avoiding prayer is a sure prescription for anxiety. To experience the kind of peace that covers all circumstances and live powerful lives, we must develop active, authentic prayer lives.

Prayerlessness is the most prohibitive obstacle in the road to a believer’s victory. When Satan attacks, we can’t rely on discipline, lessons we’ve learned in the past or our knowledge of what is best for us to bring us through.

Our strongest motivation will be the Person with whom we walk. Staying close to Him through constant communication, we receive a continual supply of strength to walk victoriously.

5. Legalism

God gave a perfect description of legalism in Isaiah 29:13: “These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men.”

We must understand that we cannot please God—or find the freedom we seek—by following a set of rules. God does not take our spiritual temperature under our tongues by the words we say, or in our ears by the impressive teachings we hear, or under our arms by the service we perform. God takes our spiritual temperature straight from the heart. He wants us to exchange our regulations for relationship with Him.

If any of these obstacles is keeping you from walking in the abundant life Christ came to give you, remember: God’s specialty is rolling away stones! Allow Him to put His hand on what is holding you captive and shove it out of the way so you can experience total freedom in Him.

Beth Moore is a well-known Bible teacher whose life call is “guiding believers to love and live on God’s Word.” She is the author of several books, including A Heart Like His and Breaking Free.

via Beth Moore: Break Through 5 Obstacles to Freedom in Christ — Charisma Magazine.