Wife battering, domestic abuse

...in his sermon last Sunday night in Dallas mentioned that a man should not raise his hand against a woman. That was not the topic of his sermon, but he did mention it. And then he asked for an "amen" from the men present. I was already saying "Thank you."

This is the first time I have in all my many hours of hearing sermons ever heard a sermon that mentioned that wife beating is wrong. I did hear one minister mention that beating one's wife was wrong; and btw that was on TBN earlier this decade and that preacher was African American too.

Shame on everybody else. I have heard an awful lot of sermons on "wives submit"  in the 1980s -- so many that I wonder if they did not sound like approval. Preached so hard that I wonder if they were actually Biblical.

Only since 2006 have I heard "man is head of the woman" correctly preached as not archon/ruler but kephale/source. Look folks, followers of Jesus should be leading the pack in terms of justice, kindness, and help for women -- and anyone else who needs help, protection and so forth.

Thank you, Bishop, for your leadership. Preachers, take note.

You are Blessed to be a Blessing

Had a great time with the folks at El-Shaddai last Saturday.

How can we bless our children?
First realize we are blessed with the blessing of Abraham, because we have faith in Jesus.
Second, bless God ourselves. This creates an atmosphere around us.
Then speak the Word of God into our children. Teach them God's ways.
Remember also to speak the blessing of vision when we correct them.
Pray to God daily to help you truly bless your children.

You are blessed to be a blessing. More on this later.

Free Coloring Pages

Here is a site I found for free coloring pages and Bible lessons.
Let me know how you like it.

Dani Johnson Exposes Porn Assault on Children

Did you realize that porn was addictive? Did you realize the adult male market was maxed out? Did you realize people were intentionally going after children?  That sexting on cellphones for moppets encouraged real porn intake? That publications like Victoria's Secret had an effect?  That Playboy is no longer considered porn by many young adults? Tips for parents?

New series on Great Shalom: Call to Arms/General Quarters for Parents and Teachers

We are airing a series now that I am very excited about. It is a wake-up call from God for parents and educators. God has a response to what is going on. Want to be part of it? Do you realize that the forces of evil are closing in on the children? Be part of the forces of light. We will unfold Scripture and show you what to do. Be on the winning side. Vision will win over despair. Love and Truth will win over hate and lies. HalleluJah. God is so good!

What ARE We Teaching? Grow up on the Full Counsel of God

I am seeing a pattern of pandering to the flesh, beiong immature, and not working. When I saw this, I looked to the teaching these people were receiving. They reflect the teaching, and the character of the preachers they sit under. Clearly they are not getting the “full counsel of God.”

The full counsel says to your faith, diligently applied, add virtue (manliness and attention to excellence), knowledge (hunger to know more), holiness, self-control, patience (cheerful endurance), brotherly love, and charitableness to all. The full counsel says to endure hardness as a good soldier. The full counsel says to deny yourself and take up the cross and follow Jesus.

Let's start with faith. This means a full reliance on the word of God – rather than mentally accepting a partisanship.

Diligence. Diligence. Thise means acting on faith, on the Word of God. This means doing good works – in contrast to sitting back and expecting to be entertained. Or worse, critiquing ministry as if it were entertainment. It means working in a calling instead of expecting that society owes you a living. It means working heartily as to the Lord, and not expecting that an employer owes you a living.It means keeping your commitments.

Virtue means gow up, stop being childish and soft. It means “acquit yourself like a man,” which, if you are not familiar with that statement means stop acting like a wet noodle in the face of a little difficulty, stand up, do the right thing, and have some backbone. It means grow up!

And therefore it includes stop complaining. Do your work cheerfully, glad you have work. It means don't act like a helpless child, when you are an adult. In fact, I don't let my children act helpless when they are not. Why then do we get grown adults acting like children, even in the face of minor difficulties. And surely church leaders doing this is rare, please tell me so. How can you be holy in the dirty world, and how can you love the brothers in a practical way, and how can you be charitable to all, if you are SO concerned with your little minor comfort?

Instead of complaining, be thankful. This is basic teaching for small children! For larger difficulties, even then, the counsel of God is “stop complaing” and replace with confessions from the Word of God. Yes?

Well some don't know this, because they are taught something else. Some get palliative sweet words that only tangetially relate to the Bible. Some get a partisan conversion message. If you “accept Jesus” then that is all. Some get much more – all kinds of miracles, esoteric doctrine, and flashy programs. But are we getting the full counsel of God? Are we applying what we are taught?

And what are we teaching?

Are we following JESUS?

There IS Hope - Hear How

If you have ever wondered if there is hope for your children.... If you ever wondered just exactly how to get your children on the right track... If you ever wondered how to make it through in difficult times...., you came to the right place. I know child rearing is not easy. I know teaching doesn't seem easy sometimtes. But God has a word for you that will change everything. It is all in the Bible. Somebody has walked it out. We are talking about it here. Please tune in. Please tell your friends to tune it. God has a word for you.   - GSB 

go to www.greatshalom.org. Select the Nationwide Archive, July 25th