GodRocksMV.com

I just saw something today that I though was pretty cool and wanted to throw out there.

I don’t know how many teens are interested in and active in the political process, but if things are the same as when I was in school in the late 80’s - not a ton of them are. I think that this is a shame and would love to see more involvement. That said, EDUCATED involvement is better than involvement without understanding of the way things work or a belief structure to form good opinions and a good baseline for who you want to support.

Enter Generation Joshua

What is Generation Joshua? According to Ned Ryun, Director :

Generation Joshua is designed for Christian youth between the ages of 11 and 19 who want to become a force in the civic and political arenas. Our goal is to ignite a vision in young people to help America return to her Judeo-Christian foundations. We provide students with hands-on opportunities to implement that vision.

In America today, battles are being waged over many issues—from judicial activism to attacks on traditional marriage to the moral disintegration of our society. In the midst of the battles, we can lose sight of where our nation has come from, and these pressing concerns could crush our hope for America’s future.

John Winthrop, then governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, wrote in 1630 concerning New England and America: “We shall be as a City upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.” He warned that “if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”

Generation Joshua wants America to be a perpetual city on a hill. We seek to inspire every one of our members with the kind of faith that sees beyond our present circumstances to what America can become—if each one of us consistently impacts our sphere of influence for Christ and for His glory.

I think the Unbited States is at a crossroads. It’s clearly God’s providence and favor that got us where we are and has allowed us to get through some challenging times. But as we see in the Bible over and over again, when God gives his favor to a people, their “human-ness” comes out and they start to excercize that free will that he gives us and go in other directions. Pride blinds us to God’s direction and what it takes to pursue a Christ-like life.
The 60′ s “Free Love” generation that brought us the destruction of the family structure in America are now in the decision making positions and doing all they can to weaken Christian values and gut religious peoples ability to live out their convictions.

Generation Joshua and projects like it are needed to bring up a generation of Christian Kids who know how how the political process works, stand for their beliefs and are willing to work for change.

With the challenges we are facing today around the world and internally as well with greed, lust, dishonesty, etc. We need God’s help more than ever. Now is the time to look to what made us great in the first place and support causes and efforts that lead us back in that direction. We shouldn’t lead with an iron fist though… we should lead like Jesus did… with Love and Compassion.. and Conviction.

For more info on Generation Joshua, you can download a PDF brochure here

God Bless!

Man, I am disappointed to be an American today. I think many of us have really just lost our moral compas completely and could definitely use an injection of compassion and priorities.

I woke up this morning and checked out the news. All the stories were dedicated to “Black Friday” and the associated retail madness. Stories on how some misguided people were lined up for 1 to 2 days to insure their chance at bargain priced electronics or the new “Tickle Me Elmo” etc.

Listening to the news on my radio in the car, I was inundated with reports on the chaos and details of the early morning “door buster” shoppers. Wedged somewhere between these vacuous reports was a story on a fundraiser for a really rare, but almost always fatal childhood disease that was suffered by about 2,000 people in the world. 15 seconds was spent on this … and no phone number or website was given on how to help.

What matters ?
What’s important?

Foodbanks in my homestate report that they are totally stuggling and behind last years donations and desparately need cash and donations of food, etc.

I did some volunteer work last year with a local foodbank and the stories of devine prividence they told me were amazing. Hundreds of pounds of meat donated - some of it better than what I can afford. People coming through at the last minute. I was amazed and thankful for this. However - wouldn’t it be great if it didn’t come to this ?

Before we go out and spend a TON of money on stuff that we don’t need and will never use, let’s take care of the people who need help. Almost all of us have been there at some point and benefited from someone else who gave to us. We really conveniently forget when we have some for ourselves.

It’s the right thing to do… it’s biblical. Check out 1 John 3 verses 16-18

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Let’s practice some Love and Common sense over the holidays and let the love of God show through our actions.

God Bless you and yours,

Wade

Here is something cool I got from a friend that sums up some important things about being American and defends our Christian roots and traditions, check it out.

The following has been attributed to State Representative Mitchell Aye from GA. This guy should run for President one day…

“We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal bed-wetters. We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights.”

ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth.
More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended.
This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone — not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm.
If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful, do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing.
Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes! (This one is my pet peeve…get an education and go to work….don’t expect everyone else to take care of you!)

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care.
That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we’re just not interested in public health care.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people.
If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don’t be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others.
If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don’t be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won’t have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job.
All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful. (AMEN!)

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness.
Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country.
We don’t care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from! (lastly….)

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country’s history or heritage.
This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!

Can I get an AMEN?

Dear God:

Why didn’t you save the school children at ?. ..

Moses Lake, Washington 2/2/96
Bethel, Alaska 2/19/97
Pearl, Mississippi 10/1/97
West Paducah, Kentucky 12/1/97
Stamp, Arkansas 12/15/97
Jonesboro, Arkansas 3/24/98
Edinboro, Pennsylvania 4/24/98
Fayetteville, Tennessee 5/19/98
Springfield, Oregon 5/21/98
Richmond, Virginia 6/15/98

Littleton, Colorado 4/20/99
Taber, Alberta, Canada 5/28/99
Conyers, Georgia 5/20/99
Deming, New Mexico 11/19/99
Fort Gibson, Oklahoma 12/6/99
Santee, Californ! ia 3/ 5/01 and
El Cajon, California 3/22/01?

Sincerely,

Concerned Student

—————————————————–

Reply:

Dear Concerned Student:

I am not allowed in schools.

Sincerely,

God

Some ranting “Christian” Schmuck

Found this clown on MSN’s Web Radio Guide - apparently Christian Rock is the music of the devil. Guess who’s leading the charge to drag us all to hell? Why Amy Grant, Sandy Patty and Michael W. Smith. Oh - how can I leave out DC Talk ?

They aren’t my style, but - tools of Satan, I don’t think so.

I also ran into another couple a few weeks back that made me wonder who was guiding them. If you are around Mount Vernon, WA- you may have seen the guy with the big truck and trailer in the Jesus jumpsuits parked on a corner at night. All was pretty normal until I mentioned that I worked to get the Gospel message out with Christian Rock shows. At that point, I was informed that Christian rock artists were the tool of the devil and that the worst was Michael W. Smith because of his ties to Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and the New World order.

I guess there are Christian nutjobs as well - surprise surprise.

Take care and God Bless.

I stopped out of curiosity and talked with this guy and his wife.

If you don’t watch “Dog The Bounty Hunter” on A&E I totally recommend you check it out sometime. Duane “Dog” Chapman is a convicted felon who actually did time for a killing back in the 70’s. When in jail, he found Christ, and decided to change his life.

He and his family now work as bounty hunters, mostly in Hawaii, and the way he works is really unique. He ministers to the criminals he brings in and tries to turn them onto the gospel as a way to help fix what is wrong in their lives - and he gets results. He goes above and beyond to care for people on the wrong side of the law and has even had past “clients” join his team once they got themselves straightened out.

He’s kind of an unusual Christian in that he looks and speaks in a lot of cases like an outlaw biker. He uses the language of the streets he came up on and works on now, but he has God in his heart. He makes sure to pray with his team before every bust they attempt and I love seeing this shown on TV.

In one of the best quotes I have ever heard delivered, someone asked him about his use of rough language. His reponse:

I tried telling them to “stop in the name of Jesus Christ,” but I found out that they respond better to “Freeze Mother______!”

He’s a really unique guy and a guy who is doing God’s work.

Now, He is up against a frightening possibility. Back 3 years ago, Dog and his team went to Mexico to arrest an accused (and now convicted) triple rapist who was a wealthy heir to the Max Factor cosmetic fortune. The Mexican government was sheltering the guy and Dog and his team brought him back to face justice. Now the Mexican government comes back 3 years later and forces the US government to arrest Dog and his son Leland and brother Tim for Kidnapping. Apparently bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico.

So now, Dog and his family are in bigtime danger because they arrested a fugitive sleazebag.

Please keep Dog and his family in your prayers and ask that God bring real justice about here. This is clearly an example of the Enemy at work and the Dog needs all of our help to avoid spending some significant time in a Mexican jail - not a pleasant thought.

To support the Dog, please visit FreeDogTheBountyHunter.com

I am just amazed everyday as I read more into the lives of Christians in other places that don’t have the religious complacency that we deal with here. I just read a book “Revolution in World Missions” from GFA.org and throughout was confronted with and convicted by stories of native missionaries in India dealing with being shunned by their families, beaten and/or killed for believing in Christ and having the conviction to tell others.

They don’t do it because they want to feel good about themselves. They don’t do it because someone in their church sent them to do it. They preach the Word because it is the only thing they can imagine doing because their faith is that strong.

I subscribe to the Voice of the Martyrs magazine and each month, the stories of believers who are beaten, imprisoned, killed for their Faith justy knock me on my butt. They go through all of this, and I can’t even find a way in my heart to tithe 5% of my money to the church or to help the poor.

I just read a story that really got me on the WayoftheMaster.com website - I recommend that you check it out.

In 1980 a young man from Rwanda was forced by his tribe to either renounce Christ or face certain death. He refused to renounce Christ, and he was killed on the spot. The night before he had written the following commitment which was found in his room:

“I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made- I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, worldly talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I won’t give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ.

I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till everyone knows, work till He stops me & when He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me because my banner will have been clear.”

WOW

As I go about living my life and faith in the US where we have it easy… I want a faith like THAT.

I just saw this on a site I frequent - I thought it was brilliant.

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas
Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they
heard:

“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to
seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is
exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and
reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and
called it building self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it
freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers
and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today;
cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!”

The response was immediate.
A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest.

In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is
pastor,logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls
responding negatively.

The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer
from India, Africa and Korea.

With the Lord’s help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and
wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called
“one nation under God.”

If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends. “If you don’t stand
for something, you will fall for everything.” ~ Will Rogers

Think about this: If you forward this prayer to everyone on your e-mail
list, in less than 30 days it would be heard by the world

I totally dig this and can relate to it.

I just got back from FreedomFest in Snohomish where I worked security and had the chance to check out some great bands and speakers. Here’s some feedback on the show (at least Saturday’s lineup)

SoulDeep- - 6 piece hard rock/punk band from Sumner, WA. I really liked these guys - Big guitars, multiple vocalists, even had some keyboard in on the mix. They were great live with a really fun stage presence. I’ll look into bringing them up to MV here in the future.

Temple- The pride of the Lake Stevens/ Granite Falls/ Snohomish area (with some help from Federal Way and the U-District as well) . Temple had a really cool sound going on with a male/female vocal attack from Tara Callahan and Billy Knott, great guitar leads from Billy , cool sludgy bass from Zhaun Dagley and DJ Because rocking the turntables. They were versatile as well with the ability to go from the crunchy to the mellow as needed. They showed a great heart for worship and evangelism as well. Got the chance to hang out with Billy and Zhaun afterwords and the Gretchen merch table and they are both cool guys. I definitely look forward to getting Temple in the Skagit Valley sooner than later.

Gretchen-Absolutely blew my mind. They get so much sound and energy out of a 3 piece band. Mia Richards’ is blessed with an amazingly dynamic and powerful voice that is so dramatic. Comparisons to Evanessence don’t do Gretchen justice at all. She’s very strong on bass as well. Her husband Dave Richards was absolutely huge on guitar laying down a serious wall of power chords and impressive solo’s while Brandon Hensley brought the thunder on drums. My personal favorite tunes were “Fading” “Passion” and a great cover of “White Wedding” by Bill Idol.

Gretchen is absolutely unique and a really powerful band to see live. I’d love to see them with a bass player added to allow Mia to roam the stage a bit. She’s a really striking presence and I think it would add to the performance. They delivered a great message as well that simplified the concept of sin by asking how many people had been hurt before and how many had hurt others. Whether you are being hurt, or doing the hurting, Jesus Christ is the medicine that can heal you and end the cycle. Amazing show- powerful music - must see.

More to come in part two….

You’d actually be kind of surprised how many great Christian shows there are in the Puget Sound area- but how do you find out about them and how do you get advanced tickets ?

I go to iTickets.com - I’ve used these guys before to do tickets for shows like the Supertones and found them pretty easy to work with and a great way to let people in the area know about upcoming events as they have a mailing list of all the people that have bought tickets from them in the past or asked them for information on upcoming shows in their area. Looking for Christian shows to go to or take your youth group to?

Check iTickets out!

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