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Showing posts from 2008

Santa Claus vs. Jesus

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Santa lives at the North Pole. JESUS is everywhere. Santa rides in a sleigh. JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water. Santa comes but once a year. JESUS is an ever present help. Santa fills your stockings with goodies. JESUS supplies all your needs. Santa comes down your chimney uninvited. JESUS stands at your door, knocks, and then enters your heart. You have to stand in line to see Santa. JESUS is as close as the mention of His name. Santa lets you sit on his lap. JESUS lets you rest in His arms. Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?" JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads. Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly. JESUS has a heart full of love. All Santa can offer is HO HO HO. JESUS offers health, help and hope. Santa says, "You better not cry.

Twas the Month Before Christmas

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Twas the month before Christmas When all through our land, Not a Christian was praying Nor taking a stand. The politically correct police had taken away, The reason for Christmas - no one could say. The children were told by their schools not to sing, About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things. "It might hurt people's feelings," the teachers would say "December 25th is just a 'Holiday.'" Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it! CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod Something was changing, something quite odd! Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda. As Targets were hanging their trees upside down At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found. At K-Mart and Staples and Penney's and Sears You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears. Inclusive, sensitive, diversity Are words tha

Reflections on the Election

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Many God-fearing Americans like myself were disappointed that Barack Obama won the election to become the next president of the United States. I was especially troubled that the junior senator from Illinois made an early reference to “gay and straight” Americans in his acceptance speech. Unless Obama changes his policies toward homosexuality and abortion, the U. S. may see some rough times ahead. Still, we must pray for a smooth transition from the Bush administration to Obama’s. Recently an attorney from Philadelphia named Philip Berg (who I might add is a Hillary Clinton supporter) filed a lawsuit claiming Barack Obama was not born in the United States and therefore ineligible for the presidency. If this were to be proven true, there could be mass chaos in our government. Who would move into the White House on January 20th? Would there be another election? I remember after Bill Clinton first won the presidency in 1992, professing Christians said derogatory things about hi

It Pays to Be Happy

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2 Timothy 4:2 tells us to "be ready in season and out of season." Yesterday morning I had an opportunity to minister on the joy of the Lord to an audience at the Charlotte airport. When I arrived at my departure gate, an employee announced on the intercom he was offering free business class upgrades to anyone who would sing a song with "happy" in its title. Initially I thought of songs like "Happy Birthday", "Don't Worry, Be Happy", and "Happy Together." (Keep in mind I used to be a nightclub disc jockey). One man went up first and sang the old children's song "If You're Happy and You Know It." When the employee asked for another volunteer, I quickly raised my hand and then with my laptop computer played "The Happy Song" by Delirious and tried to sing along. Because I didn't have all the lyrics memorized, the employee insisted I dance around instead. So I did a brief jig and then told everyone wa

Lessons Learned From Lakeland

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By now many of you have seen (and perhaps attended) the Florida Healing Outpouring meetings in Lakeland. What began on April 2nd as five days of meetings at Ignited Church by Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley quickly exploded into a worldwide revival thanks to GodTV and the Internet. I was in Lakeland for six days in May and then watched more meetings via GodTV this past summer. In mid-August, it was announced that Todd Bentley was stepping down from public ministry due to failures in his personal life including a breakdown of his marriage. Many ministers have since made public statements regarding Todd and the Florida Outpouring. Until now, I didn’t plan on making my own comments mainly because I do not know Todd personally (although he added me as a Facebook friend). But then a couple of weeks ago, an incident came up that made me decide otherwise. One Saturday morning I attended a men’s breakfast at a church in Virginia. After eating and a time of worship, the pastor preached

Where Is That In The Bible?

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Occasionally, I receive critical messages from people who don’t agree with things I show in my videos. A remark I often hear is, “Where’s that in the Bible?” Certainly I agree the Word of God is our standard in which everything we do and say must be judged. But has it occurred to you that some generally accepted Christian traditions aren't specifically mentioned in Scripture? For example, Sunday Schools cannot be found in the Bible yet most churches have them. The same thing could be said about altar calls for salvation. God uses people in different ways because we are all unique. Jesus Himself did unusual things like spitting and putting mud in people's eyes to bring healing. No doubt things like that done today in our congregations would offend many church folk. John 21 says that Jesus did many other things that were not written down. Those "other things" could have been more radical than what was recorded in the Scriptures. Of course, we must reject all id

Coming to the Cross @ Crossroads

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Last Saturday afternoon, my friend Wendy went with me to Richmond, Virginia. There we met up with my friend Kirby at a coffee shop called Crossroads. Just before Kirby showed up, I went online with my laptop computer. A man sitting near me asked about the latest headlines involving Hurricane Ike, which hit Texas that day. This man later asked if was a body count. I responded by asking this man if he knew where he would spend eternity when his life ended. This man was a bit antagonistic towards Christianity and made a comment about millions of Chinese people not knowing the Lord. I responded by pointing out Wendy is Chinese and certainly a believer. It became a seed planting opportunity. A short time later I witnessed to an African-American couple who sat by us. The man claimed to know the Lord but his girlfriend was uncertain of her eternal destiny. Shay prayed to get born again. As Kirby, Wendy, and I were leaving the coffee shop, I saw two boys riding their bicycles in the

The Goodness of God

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Recently I attended "A Night of Hope" in Washington, DC featuring Joel Osteen. This was the first time I heard Pastor Joel live. Listening to him minister from the heart without time restrictions gave me a greater appreciation for his ministry. It grieves me how some religious folk criticize Joel Osteen for being too positive. One website labeled Pastor Joel a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” (Matthew 7:15) Yet as I heard one evangelist point out, “Wolves cannot be shepherds. They are among the sheep.” Many of us often hear the phrase “God is good…all the time.” Sadly, a lot of individuals don’t really believe that. A few preachers think their calling in life is to thump their Bibles and yell at people they think are going to hell. But ministers who lack compassion and do not speak the truth in love may cause sinners to be even more resistant to the gospel! Romans 2:4 says that it’s the goodness of God that leads one to repentance. The truth of God’s goodness can be foun

Once Saved, Always Saved?

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A few months ago I exchanged emails with a man who originally contacted me about something he didn't agree with in one of my videos. Eventually I found out this man believed in “once saved, always saved.” Not long afterward, my roommate heard someone at a Bible study teaching the same thing. Let’s examine this belief in the light of Scripture. Salvation is a gift based on our beliefs, not upon our works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Once a man is born again, it’s up to him how much he will grow as a Christian. Philippians 2:12 says, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Notice this verse does not say, "work for your salvation". The works referred to are works of belief, not of things done. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 warns, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doc

"Chill & Refill" CD now available

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"Chill & Refill", the follow-up album to "New Wine Party", is now available. Featuring a mixture of electronic music with the anointed preaching of John Scotland, "Chill" is mellower but more polished than "Party." My prayer is that this album will minister joy to everyone that hears it. If you want to preview "Chill & Refill", samples of it can be heard on MySpace... http://www.myspace.com/trpost If you are interested in purchasing a CD, you may do so by sending $15 through PayPal or my snail mail address. John Scotland will also sell the album at his meetings. To find out when John might be ministering in your area, go to www.johnscotland.org Keep drinking! :D

Larry Norman 1947-2008

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One of the most influential musicians in Christian music has gone home to be with the Lord. Larry Norman, the writer of songs such as “I Wish We’d All Been Ready” and “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music”, passed away two days ago. Larry became known as the Father of Christian Rock as he was among the first musicians to combine spiritual themes with rock and roll. I had the pleasure of meeting Larry in 1996 at a worship conference in Toronto. During one of the workshops, Larry answered questions from the audience. I asked Larry how he responded to Christians who criticized his appearance especially his long hair. He replied by quoting 1 Corinthians 11:14 (“ Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? ”) and then said, “Women these days cut their hair so short it makes mine look long.” Larry was looked upon by some church folk as a rebel. He once told CCM Magazine, "The churches weren’t going to accept me looking li