Journey of a Christian Man: From Weakness to Strength

I write across a wide variety of platforms and outlets, with the bulk of my writing centering on Christianity, manhood, and building the kingdom of God on earth.

Because of that, it can appear I arrived at strength and victory overnight, which would be far from the truth. It was facing a series of extraordinary challenges over time, with the help of Jesus Christ, the Bible, my wife, and fellow believers, that helped me survive and ultimately to thrive and eventually attain victory in the circumstances.

It required me to hold on to God first, as it appeared nothing in the way of deliverance was coming. Under some circumstances it took years, others a few months.

The point is we all have to go through serious trials in one way or another, and in many cases there are no answers in the short term; we have to learn to carry the load while engaging with everyday life. That's where the chief struggle is, and where many men fail, because they focus on the challenging issue to the detriment of other areas of life, with some losing their jobs, wives, families, businesses or even their sanity, because they wanted the circumstance to change so bad, they forgot about the rest of life.

I've struggled in those ways in all of those areas, losing businesses I built for years, along with part of my family, as I was legally attacked because of an accusation that was made, which while false, it wasn't determined till almost everything in my life and the life of my family was destroyed. By then it was too late, even though I had been exonerated.

To make it worse, those making the accusations knew it was false, but proceeded anyway because it was released to the media across a large portion of the southern part of the U.S.

It shouldn't have ever gotten that far, but a D.A. was up for re-election, and thought he had a slam dunk case. Eventually he had to work behind the scenes to save his political rear end by allowing my lawyer unprecedented access at the time to the grand jury. He was allowed to go in and argue the case as if it was a trial itself.

The grand jury dropped all the charges, but it wasn't till after I had literally been shot at, had people come to my home and threaten me in front of my family, lost four children (two adopted and two foster), lost my business, and in the end, had to move away from the area because of the undeserved loss of reputation, which while cleared, forever put a question mark in the minds of the people in the area concerning my guilt or innocence.

This is just one of the many things encountered during my lifetime which I had to face as a man.

At first I was in a state of shock as I watched child protective services take four children away from us, as my wife wept, watching the car drive off with them in it, never to have them in our home again. It took time for that shock to leave me, as they attempted to trump up even more charges against the two of us. The original charge was that I had kicked the oldest adoptive boy in the eye, a charge he later admitted he made up. That was what actually resulted in the charges being dropped.

I had other times in my life when people or the system attempted to emasculate me, but this was by far the most dangerous. There was other danger in the past, but that was psychological rather than physical and economical.

After years of other struggles, including taking care of a disabled son my wife gave birth to, it almost caused me to collapse under the pressure. Not only was I trying to hold my family together, but I was holding on to my own courage by a thread. I didn't know if I was going to make it.

I had never experienced this level of corruption in the government before, it was something that surprised me and didn't know how to deal with at first because I wasn't able to process it. I had never before experienced evil being displayed through official government channels. There had been corrupt individuals within the government I had encountered before, but never the systemic evil being worked against me.

After losing the children, that was probably the first area I had to process and adapt to. I realized they had no interest in the truth, but in a political victory in the case of the D.A., or by the child protective services attempting to save face once they realized they had been lied to. To the end the corrupt agency refused to stop pursuing the further and total destruction of myself and my family.

The problem with child protective services is they can wield an ungodly power that has few if any checks and balances. It's extremely difficult to survive a vicious attack from it - especially if you're a man.

I can't tell all the details because it would take a book to delve into all the variables, including an internal battle between people over the best way to handle these troubled children.

My caseworker, which had been removed from her job, believed unconventional people (especially Christians) who home schooled and offered a different lifestyle were prepared to have a more positive effect on these children.

Her removal was what opened the door for the lawsuit to be filed against us. Once she was out of the way, there was nothing to stop the persecution that followed. Okay, you get the general story.

How I battled my way out of it was to first focus on what remained of my family, which was my wife, son and daughter. We took them to a doctor to have a physical examination in order to show there had been no abuse with them. This in and of itself confirmed they really didn't believe the charges against us, because they would have never allowed our two biological children to remain in the home if they thought they were being abused.

After I secured their safety as far as remaining under our care, I had to start dealing with a plethora of legal and other issues.

We did a lot of praying together and bonding together as a family, as we lost my business and source of income. We had some money left, but most of that had to be spent on legal expenses to defend ourselves.

I came to the conclusion we were ruined, and were going to have to start from scratch in almost every area of our lives.

One thing I refused to do, and my wife was with me in it, is we wouldn't enter into a plea bargain, where we were asked to accept a three-year sentence, with about half of it being suspended. We said no, and instead faced up to ten years in prison if we were convicted.

It may look dismal, but in fact coming to a decision and taking a stand was empowering. We knew we were innocent of all charges, and we weren't going to allow them to get away with what they put us through by entering a guilty plea in hopes of some leniency; the primary purpose being to end the media coverage of the debacle, which was extensive.

Along with prayer and holding on to one another, we had to come to a place of peace with the help of God, putting everything into His hands. We did reach a place of peace and were ready to accept whatever came our way. This was also empowering, as they had lost all power over us that came from intimidation, and we were ready to do battle.

In the end, even our lawyer said we could have pursued the matter legally and put some of the people in jail that kept the pressure on, knowing we were innocent. There were even doctor's reports saying the children were in perfect health, and then in the middle of the report completing changing their opinion, with the obvious reason being someone had told them that's what they wanted them to do.

I became a much stronger man as a result of this ordeal, which spread over months. After losing the children, one of the harder things to learn to cope with was the wait. You have to put your life on hold and stand still with your lives. Nothing can go forward until the situation was dealt with and it came to a conclusion.

There are times when a man has nothing left but to trust in and cling to Jesus Christ to hold him up during times like these, as we must not only be strong for ourselves, but strong for our families. That's all I did, and I can take no credit for it.

In the end though, God proved He is stronger than one of the most powerful and potentially corrupt institutions in society, bringing us out of a place of defeat and despair to complete victory.

I decided we wouldn't legally pursue the people who did this to us because my family had been crushed so much, I determined it would be detrimental to them to stretch it out for another year or more. I let it go; one of the hardest things I had to do when I wanted to put the sword of justice on their necks and make them pay for what they did.

Since I'm prone to want to take those types of steps in protecting my family, that was something that was extremely difficult, but I didn't think of it as being emasculated, but rather taking care of my family, which had been crushed in every way a human being could be crushed.

It taught me God could take us through anything if we continue to hold onto and trust in Him, while understanding the depths of the evil and corruption that permeates this world, even at the judicial level. It opened my eyes in a way only something like this could do.

Fortunately, I'm not cynical, although I remain extremely cautious. I don't trust the legal system any more, and certainly don't trust those employed by it.

That said, because God has instituted it, I still abide by the general precept, although I'm more apt to resist authority when it represents that which opposes the revealed will of God in the Holy Scriptures.

If I had let my anger overcome me, I would have eventually lived a life of victim hood, eventually striking back in a way that probably would have resulted in be serving jail time. By the grace of God I didn't do that, and He allowed me and us to survive and learn many lessons to this day.

The bottom line for me is I had to focus on what was best for my family under these circumstances, and that meant letting it go and moving on with our lives. We could have went to war and won, but it probably would have been at the cost of some of us not surviving the struggle.

That's not to say this is how is will always or should work out, but there are times to make war and time to let things go. This was a time to let go. It went against my nature, which was to fight and destroy my enemies, but this time my decision was the right thing to do. It was the manly thing to do.

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Men and the Kingdom of God

"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet." (l Corinthians 15:24-25).



Paul has declared by the revelation and power of the Holy Spirit in the scriptures, that Jesus Christ "must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet." It doesn't say "will reign," but it says "must reign."

This implies it's a requirement of the Father for Jesus to reign from heaven until He has "put down all rule and all authority and power." Faithful male followers of Jesus Christ will take the lead on this, as the way Jesus will take rule is through godly men taking action based upon the law, word and revelation of God revealed in the Bible.

What's interesting about this in my view and experience, is when men take the lead, godly women will follow them. Even though some women attempt to distort the order of God, it can't and won't be denied: men will take the lead and women will respond to that leadership.

But for that order to be manifest and made visible on the earth, Christian men in fact must take the lead. That means taking responsibility in our respective callings before God and man. Until we do, confusion will remain on the earth as the people of God flounder about because of the lack of male leadership.

Men have been made by God to face and conquer challenges, and it doesn't get any better than battling against the forces of darkness in a leadership role.

What this doesn't primarily or necessarily mean is we are to be in some type of official role in the church, such as pastor or teacher, among others. It could mean that, but it's far too limiting in scope to represent the full idea of God in regard to His kingdom.

Rather, it means in our individual lives, families, jobs, businesses, politics, and a plethora of other areas of life, we are to learn what God says about them in His word and apply them to our lives and the lives of those we have influence in. This is taking dominion.

Taking dominion isn't about lording it over people or bossing them around, it's about exercising authority in their lives by first, living it before them as an example, and second, teaching them how they can also do it. It doesn't get much more complicated than that, although there are a lot of variables to learn in different disciplines we may operate in. That means becoming experts in whatever area of life we choose to take dominion over outside of our own lives and that of our families.

When I say outside of our families, I mean we are to take dominion there, but there is more for men to do than that. It must start there, and we must guard our trust and take responsibility for our wives and children. From there we can then engage in taking dominion in other areas of life.

Take courage brothers. Don't be afraid, or let fear rule you. God has been pleased to give us the kingdom, which means we are given responsibility to rule and reign on earth according to what His word tells us to do it.

Throughout the entire Bible, we are given instruction on how to apply His word and laws in every area of life. It's up to us to take that and run with it, confident that we as men will lead His people to dominion under His Lordship and reign.

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One of the Great Writing Secrets - for Fiction or Non-Fiction

Undeserved Misfortune

There is a little known secret in the writing and creative world, which if understood and properly utilized, would take the popularity of your writing to an entirely new level. I'll call that secret "undeserved misfortune," although it could be described using a variety of phrases.

What's interesting about this is many authors don't know why it is a particular piece of writing is successful, so they just throw out some stuff to see if it'll stick.

Yet when you analyze a large number of books, or films for that matter, you'll find one of the key elements making it a success is negative things that happen to people that are no fault of their own. This creates an opportunity for a lot of secondary elements or characters which can be worked in around the reason for that misfortune.

Before we get into fiction, let's look at one of the secrets those promoting non-fiction books have known for some time - specifically in the self-help or inspirational category.

What is done in order to get a reader to relate is tell some of their background story of where they started from, and in many cases, how certain challenges came about. This sets the reader up to be shown what a person did to overcome the challenges they faced. The more the struggles are undeserved, the more the reader can relate to and identify with them, which provides the backdrop for the solutions. The bulk of the remainder of the book will show how the difficulties were resolved.

Without the before and after story and imagery, it's not as effective.

For fiction, it's only different because it's all creatively made up. Yet the effect is still the same, with the exception of the introduction of other elements into the story - such as humor and waiting for a hero to be revealed to help solve the problem.

What makes it work time after time in story after story is the redemption factor. Darth Vader in Star Wars is one of the more well-known characters, but you can easily identify hundreds more if you think about stories that have been highly successful.

Some of the undeserved misfortune can include disease, accidents, a variety of enemies (human or otherwise), or anything else which causes a person pain and struggle they.

I do want to interject here that the misfortune has to be undeserved. Someone that has brought it upon themselves and struggles with it, isn't as attractive to readers.

Think that through for a moment. While we can somewhat identify with someone that causes their own problems and are trying to work them out, it's those that aren't self-destructive or unwise in some way, which readers really identify with. You cheer them on to make it far more than those whose wounds are self-inflicted.

I believe the reason for that is a person, in the end, must save themselves if the cause is their own thinking and actions. Those who aren't the source of the problem, most of the time need someone to help get them out of the situation. This is a powerful attractant and tool to use to get other characters into the story.

There's a lot more to say about this, but the key is to start looking at this as the foundation of your fiction or non-fiction writing. It'll take it to another level and delight readers who want to find out how the misfortune was dealt with or solved.

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Lack of Punishment Creates Criminal Class

I'm a strong advocate of gun rights for citizens, based upon the fact there is evil in the world, and we all have a right to defend ourselves and our families.

That said, one of the reasons we see so much resistance to self-defense is the justice systems in America and other countries, have refused to deal with crime in the way the way God instructs us to in the holy scriptures, with the end result being a growing criminal class and increased crime.

The resistance comes from there being so many criminals engaging in crime, they have become a significant portion of the population. Either that, or those committing crimes are enabled by families believing they shouldn't have to be held accountable for what they have done, other than getting mild sentences, if any at all.

Only the most heinous crimes are treated seriously because of public pressure.

The moral laws of God as revealed to Moses and throughout the scriptures, remain in place, as do the accompanying penalties for those crimes, unless they are abrogated in the New Testament.

Because sin has become so rampant in the world and the church, and God has instituted punishments for those sins (breaking God's laws), many people have rejected them because they themselves, or someone they care about, have committed sins that require justice; in some cases including the death penalty.

Since punishment is weak or absent in many cases, people are trained to know they can get away with many things there are no consequences for. This encourages more sin and lawbreaking, which produces many victims.

While we are given permission by God to deal with criminals to the point of killing them if they are a threat, the scenario God wants in this world of sin is for those committing crimes to be dealt with in a way they are either forced to give restitution, or if they've committed a sin unto death to be executed.

Career criminals, even if it's a series of what some would call - petty crimes, are also required to be executed, according to the word and will of God.

Under those circumstances, there would be much fewer times people would have to defend themselves, because the criminal element would be largely eliminated from society.

To deal with this we need to once again teach our children and grandchildren the laws of God and the consequences of breaking them, while at the same time working to have them become part of our judicial system once again.

I believe that is what 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 means.

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

6 And having in a readiness to revenge (punish) all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

We must come into a place of fulfilling our obedience to God, which means obeying His commands as revealed in the Bible. Once that is in place, we will be ready to punish all disobedience, because we will be walking in practical righteousness.

I see the point here being is we all tend to work in self-interests, so if we're walking in disobedience to God, we aren't going to call for punishments for sins as revealed in the scriptures. But as we walk in obedience we remove self interest because there is nothing we are doing we should be punished for.

If we don't commit to this, evil will continue to spread across the world, as those living in a lifestyle of sin will continue to grow in numbers, overwhelming the numbers of the righteous.

As the world is today, we'll continue to see a growing number of people having to engage in self defense because laws that are on the books aren't enforced, and many that should be there aren't even seriously considered appropriate because of the many people engaging in sins that, according to God, require punishment.

That means the criminal class will grow until we as Christians live in accordance with the commands of God, and put the laws of God and their punishments into our legal code.

For that reason we do need to have a plan of self defense in place, even while we work on our legal and judicial systems embracing the commands of God, as He requires.

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Rise Up O Christian Men

swordbearer.org

It is far past time for Christian men to remove the yoke of feminism and gender blending off of them; rejecting the lie of egalitarianism while embracing our masculinity.

Since men and women are totally different, the idea of saying there is no difference between the sexes has resulted in the freakish culture we have in the world today, where people insanely believe they can be a man or women by simply asserting it.

This goes back to what the Bible teaches, stating men and women are not to wear the clothes of the opposite sex. Men were required to dress like men, and women like women. Disobedience to that command comes from the attempt to blur all differences between men and women in order to force an unattainable "equality" upon them; an impossible task.

This is why so much strange behavior has emerged in this area throughout history, and why women take on mannish characteristics and men take on effeminate traits. It's the logical outcome of the pursuit of an equality that can never be achieved when we're totally different from one another.

Can a dog be equal with a cat? Of course not. Could you imagine a dog putting on cat whiskers and walking around like a cat because it thinks there is no difference between them ... and because of that they're equal? It's absurd. Yet that is what feminists in general, and many women in particular, do concerning men. How would you measure the equality between a cat and a dog? What if a dog demands he should be the one that catches the mice because of equality? What if the cat decides it's going to be the watchcat, which will meow instead of bark to chase off intruders?

Dogs should be content to be a dog and a cat should be content to be a cat. The same with men and women. A man needs to enjoy being a man as God has created him. So should women. 

Women can't be men, and we as men should never in any way want to be like a women. It's an abomination to God. Together Christian men and women represent the image of God. To consider them being equal and the same is total rebellion and rejection of God's way to reveal His nature to people.

The deliberate, horrid, dishonest and despicable assertion the Scriptures teach this come from an outright lie and fabrication. The only place men and women are talked about as being equal is in regard to salvation. Only in Christ can a man or woman be saved, and in that sense we have "equal" standing before God. It has nothing to do with function, order or authority.

We must quit allowing the world and women to emasculate us. They have no right or authority to do so, and it's wicked to attempt it.

Jesus Christ came as a man to the earth, and He displayed His masculinity in authority and power as the Son of God. We are expected and required to do the same in our specific callings and responsibilities.

We are men. No, a woman is not like us, and neither is she equal to us. The concept makes no sense because of the extraordinary differences between how God created us. It can't be measured, and thus shouldn't be pursued or sought after.

Forget about what some women try to form us into in order to rise up out of their appointed place and take authority over us, in disobedience to the scriptures.

Be the man God created you to be

Rather, be the man God has created you to be. Take some time to hang out with other Christian men and enjoy those times to bond and enjoy that type of fellowship only men can have with one another as men.

We of course enjoy and accept our Christian sisters, but on our terms as men, not on their terms of trying take away that which God has given us. I'm not saying all women do this, but many of them do, and those that refuse to submit to God's word go out and try to make feminine (not feminist) women unhappy and resentful about being the women God made them to be, in order to win them over to their ideology.

Resist this in you family, and watch over your wife, sisters and daughters in order to keep this type entryism from infiltrating you church, friends or family.

Be confident in being a man. Don't believe the deceptive pursuit of so-called equality, which has never been something God had in His heart from before creation. Also remember there are a lot of feminist men that have caved into the ideology in order to placate their mothers, wives or girlfriends. They are not friends of ours, and should be considered very suspect when we interact with them.

 Don't let anyone undermine your masculinity

Don't let anyone undermine your masculinity. It steals something that is ours to embrace, and to lose it is to lose ourselves.

Let us be bold and strong in the Lord. Let's be examples to our friends and families of what a man is supposed live and act like. Let's take up some worthy pursuits and work toward accomplishing them. Let us protect our friends and families from our enemies; ready to do what is needed to keep them safe.

We need to show and communicate with them as men, giving them confidence in our authority in their lives, and bringing them peace and contentment in a world that has gone mad.

Don't let the insanity of egalitarianism afflict your manhood or your family. Rise up O Christian men!

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Jesus is Lord in All Areas of Life

For a variety of reasons Christians are either not aware of, or in resistance to, the idea that God, through the Holy Scriptures, has revealed His will in regard to all areas of life.

Another way of putting this would be to ask ourselves the question on whether or not God has given instructions on how we are to interact with one another in all of our activities.


This would include family, raising children, work, business, politics, education, entertainment, abortion, and a plethora of other areas of interest we pursue.

In other words, either Jesus is Lord of all our lives or He isn't. We can't simply pick and choose what we like and disregard the rest concerning His revealed will in the Bible; at least not if we truly love Him.

Love has nothing to do with sentimentality, which can be fickle and carnal. Love has to do with obedience. Jesus said that if we love Him we will keep His commandments. Love is obedience, and what we are to obey is revealed in His Word.

This is far from drudgery, rather it's a guide to how we are to apply the truths of God to all areas of life, which when we do, can have surprising results, as we see His invisible, heavenly  purpose being brought into visible reality on earth.

If we don't come to a decision concerning this, we will find ourselves stumbling through life, many times frustrated from not knowing whether or not we're doing things the way God wants us to, or worse, not even caring if we do because we assume the Bible doesn't have guidance and answers to all areas of life.

Secular humanism, postmodernism, nihilism, and other destructive beliefs and ideas, either don't believe there is truth or in a right or wrong way to do things. As long as the God of the Bible, as revealed in the Bible, is kept out of life and locked into church buildings, they're okay with it. But when Christians start to apply the Bible to life, they start screaming because they understand the threat associated with the fact that Jesus is Lord, and while they may not comprehend all that we're doing, they understand the implications of it.

For far too long we've aloud Satan and his followers to do as they wish on this earth, while we play along, deceived by the myth of neutrality, which we quickly find out is a lie when we start to build the kingdom of God on this earth.

We must develop alternatives to the world in all areas of life

There is no such thing as equal time for God, whether it's in business, education, politics or law. That means there is no such thing as neutrality, but only an enemy that maintains control over the world by deceiving Christians into believing God has no place in the world outside of churches.

Reinforcing this are numerous Christians who are afraid to engage with our enemies; not to only debate and refute them, but by creating alternatives to what they offer the world.

We need to develop our own distribution systems in order to prevent the gatekeepers from controlling the narrative, as they've done for so long. We need to pull our children out of the public school system and stop them from being indoctrinated into an enemy ideology that oppose most of what we believe in.

In the end, Jesus is Lord, and He's not only the Lord of eternity and heaven, He is Lord of the present and earth. That means we must take responsibility to learn His will as revealed in His word, and apply to the area of life we operate in or called to have an influence in.

Don't try to do something big at first, as we are not to despise the days of small things. Rather, seek God out for what He wants us to become experts in, and then pursue it and learn it. From there we need to start writing about it or applying it to wherever we live, work or have an influence.

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Specialization is Key to Kingdom Success

1 Corinthians 12:27-29

27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?

One of the problems we have with the above verses is those that believe it, only apply it to a church service of some type, and don't realize this is a comprehensive insight into how the kingdom of God works best when it's being implemented by His people.

The key to this is its a reference to division of labor, meaning each person has a role to play, and only when they focus on and to that to the best of their ability will they be able to expand the kingdom of God on the earth.

What most of us need to do is inventory our lives in regard to what we believe our responsibilities are, and then narrow it down to a very specialized area. I'm talking here about our contribution to building the kingdom of God on earth, not the job we may be doing in order to pay for our bills. For most people that's two different things.

Paul's rhetorical question concerning whether or not we  all apostles or all teachers, points to the need to search for, discover and develop our gifts given to us by God. This is why one of the metaphors for the people of God is the body of Christ. Each person has a part and function, and we need to take responsibility for that function and develop it to the highest level we can.

We need to be specialists

That's just another way of saying we need to be specialists.

Not only that, but we must understand not only what our responsibilities are, but what the responsibilities of others are as well, in order that we may cooperate and work together within our assigned roles when they intersect with one another. What others are good at will never be exactly lined up with what we're good at, so we have to learn to work with one another, which again, is a division of labor, which is the way to get the most accomplished in the kingdom.

One thing that is releasing and freeing for us is the realization we aren't able to do everything. As a matter of fact, once we understand a little of the vastness of who God is and what He wants, we discover there actually is only very little we can do; even in our specialized fields or areas of service.

This is why once we become at least adequate or good at what we do, and eventually with work become experts, we need to find others that are sympathetic to our callings and interests and find ways we can encourage and help one another in our specialized areas of service.

The sooner we embrace this concept and take steps toward accomplishing it, the more we'll get done in this life. Whatever a person's calling is, the most effective way to make a difference in our lifetime is to specialize and faithfully serve in that segment of life. That is really the only way to leave a legacy that others can build upon.  

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How to Build God's Kingdom: Beyond Negativity and Criticism

There's a great weakness in the strategy and tactics of Christians when attempting to make a difference in this world.

It's similar to the verse in Jeremiah 1:10 where he is given part of his assignment by God.

Jeremiah 1:10

See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Many of us hear the first four parts of that verse first, emphasizing rooting out, pulling down, destroying and throwing down. This is the necessary but negative side of the equation. It is very legitimate and needs to be done, but it has little value if the building and planting part isn't added.

My observations over the years are those that offer the negative side of dealing with issues contrary to the kingdom of God, do okay with telling people what they shouldn't do, but have no positive alternatives to offer to show them what they can or should do.

I want to make this clear. Negativity and criticism have their place when attacking evil that needs to be dealt with. If that isn't done first and rooted out, offering an alternative is meaningless. How can you build on a faulty foundation? The ground has to be dug up and cleared in order to provide a platform to build in someones life, or an alternative way of doing things, such as educating children, business, health, any one of hundreds of categories of life.

We need to offer an alternative

The point isn't constructive criticism and attacking the roots of evil and wrongdoing is bad, the point is it's inadequate by itself. There needs to be positive alternatives in order to have a long-term, sustainable impact.

On the other hand, those that only offer a positive alternative without rooting out that which needs to be removed, end up having a foundation that will crumble and a work in the lives of other containing mixture; something that is an abomination to God.

It also has little teeth in it, as it tends to include sentimentality rather than the type of toughness that the trial of fire all or our work will undergo in order to see what it's made of.

If we root out without planting, all we have is a nice place to place a garden that is quickly overtaken with weeds and tares because there was nothing to replace it. You get the idea.

So when we attempt to expand God's kingdom on earth, as it relates to strategy, we need to develop a positive alternative in order to give people guidance. It may not be the exact path for them, but it will get them going in the right direction.

Even if you primarily like to give little shots and missiles on social media outlets, put together your tearing down stuff and include with it the building up alternative. It doesn't have to be long, but you can have a bunch of these related to specific topics ready to copy and paste at a moments notice.

Not only does this give people answers, but it can shut our enemies mouths as they try to figure out how to undermine positive alternatives.

You can do this no matter what your chosen area of expanding the kingdom of God on earth is. Since we should be specialists in our war on humanism, it means we'll eventually be experts that can quickly offer both sides of meaningful change: tearing down and building up. One without the other will result in failure and frustration.

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Christians Have the Right and Responsibility to Defend Themselves Against Crime and Criminals

source: swordbearer.org

Ex 22:2

 “If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him.”  


It's a strange and unbiblical assertion to make when people declare there is no justification for guns and self defense for Christians or others.

Not only is it not true, it conflicts with numerous parts of the Bible, including the Old and New Testaments.

Listed above in Exodus 22:2, is a law that is still relevant for modern times, and for all time until Jesus returns and resurrects us. There is to be no guilt placed upon anyone that defends themselves from someone breaking into their home. Not only does it say that, but it identifies the one breaking in as a thief, a relative low-level criminal when compared to rapists or murderers. But even at that level, to violate the boundaries of a home can be punishable by death by those threatened by the thief or anyone else up to no good.

No law should ever be made against those placed in that position.

We should defend ourselves by any means necessary!

This is an interesting revelation from God in that the crime in this case is more severe if the owners of the home defend themselves. If a thief is caught they have to restore what they took from the owners and more to compensate for the crime.

It reminds me of when my house was broken into years ago and my son was in his room at the time. The people who did it were caught, and they faced a more severe penalty because of what was called the "fear" or "terror" factor, meaning there was someone in the house at the time of it being broken into.

That appears to be similar to what is going on here. A person has no idea what a person is doing in their home. It could be for nothing more than taking stuff, but it could be worse. I believe the term thief above is used generically for anyone breaking into a home for any purpose. There is no way for the

There is no uncertainty concerning God has given us total permission to defend ourselves to any degree we choose to under this unknown threat. It can't be any clearer than this scripture says.

It's irrelevant what the method of self-defense is. In most cases a gun is the best defense because it has the best chance of dealing quickly and effectively with someone that is a danger to ourselves or our families.

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Business Success and the Sovereign Customer

From the point of view of a real Christian, God is sovereign over all. Yet because we're made in the image of God, there is a reflection of that sovereignty in people. For that reason, when looking to be successful in business, we must understand that under the parameter of the sovereignty of God, is the sovereign customer, and how we serve that customer will determine our level of success, within our calling.

With that in mind, the basis to any success is providing quality service. It doesn't get any more complicated than that. There is of course the need to find what we can serve best in and become as knowledgeable as we can within that field, but as it relates to the customer, the quality service we offer will directly correlate with how they respond to us; meaning how much of their business they give us.

One of the best ways to attract that sovereignty or loyalty is to take advantage of the times when something challenging happens the requires our involvement in helping to solve the problem. This isn't always some major challenge that takes extraordinary skill levels to fix (although it could be). Instead, it's usually the little things that add up that may cause a negative experience for a customer.

We all experienced times when we've had a lot of red tape and ineffective friction we've had with customer service to empathize with and understand this completely.

The winners in this area will be those businesses able to reduce the amount of frustration their customers experience when not only doing everyday business with them, but when something needs to be taken care of because of a faulty product or service.

I remember one time a long time ago with one of my first businesses where I had acquired a residential and commercial cleaning business. Having some experience in that area, I went to a contract I won, feeling very confident I could easily accomplish it. But my experience didn't help with a particular problem, and I told the customer I wasn't able to do what they asked, and no one else could either because the type of stains they wanted to be cleaned in the carpet were something I had never had to deal with in the past.

The problem was I made a decision and assertion based upon my experience, rather than consult someone that would know whether or not what I said was a fact. So I completed the job and the customer wasn't too happy.

What I should have done was told them I would continue cleaning the large carpeted area, and I would get back to them on what I could do with the stains. What I did was clean up the entire carpet, leaving the stains on the part of the carpet which was the reason we were called to perform the job in the first place.

My only excuse was it was a job the former owner had bid on and won before we bought his company, and we may not have made a bid without first checking out the situation and what was required. That said, the customer was the one in charge, and my partner and I should have made every effort to find out how to accomplish the task, rather than go through the motions and leave it as it was.

Needless to say we didn't go back for references from that client.

No matter what business we serve people or other companies in, we must understand they call the shots. If there are problems to be solved, they should be negotiated before any work begins and the agreement put on paper.

For those selling products, there should be clear and easy to understand instructions on the entire process of the transaction, including what customers need to do if they change their minds.

Outside of people that are cruel and not interested in a problem being solved, we should do everything we can to fulfill the promises we make to customers, using the problems inevitably rising from serving customers as an opportunity to not only help them with the issue, but do it in such a way it wins their loyalty.

Those committed to quality service for their customers will find themselves outperforming competitors taking the low road on their journey to success.

We have to embrace the fact customers are sovereign, and operating under that reality produces the type of service that will win their hearts and money to our businesses.

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We are Responsible for Educating our Children

One area of life we have freedom to make big changes in as Christians is in regard to the education of our children, which Christian parents are responsible for. This is a least true in the United States where I live.

But no matter where a believer in Jesus Christ lives, parents are responsible for raising their children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

For that reason we need to take that responsibility seriously, and need to remove our children from the public school system if they're already in it, and never allow them to enter into it if they aren't old enough.

The reason for that, beyond it being our responsibility as parents, is public education teaches an ideology alien and foreign to the beliefs of a Christian, and part of the curriculum is designed to destroy the faith of our children.

Not only that, it directly teaches them to sin against God, with their being no absolutes other than that truth embraced by each individual. Truth to them isn't based upon the revelation of Jesus Christ in the scriptures, it's based upon what they decide it is.

To send our children to public schools is to toss the dice as to their future on this earth, and where and how they'll spend eternity. The stakes are high.

with Grandchildren - life is good

This doesn't necessarily mean children have to be home schooled, as many have chosen to do, it could also mean placing them in a Christian school you trust, or if you can afford it, have them tutored part time. I say part time because most children learning outside public education do as much in a few hours as their counterparts do in an entire day - in many cases more. There should also be time for children to pursue areas of interest to them which would be a form of learning (for example art), but not something they would necessarily consider being part of school.

It sometimes boggles my mind that Christian parents don't understand what their children are up against when sent to public education indoctrination centers, because that is in fact exactly what they are.

Always keep in mind there is no such thing as neutrality in this world, and that is especially true in public schools, where learning is self-consciously anti-Biblical and anti-Christian.

Many Christians look to the future with fear, hoping for a better world for their children and grandchildren. The first and most important step is to be sure the future will be populated with children trained to deeply respect God and obey His laws and commands as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. That will never be done in government schools.

Part of our job is to take a defensive position with our families, ensuring they have the best environment to learn about Jesus Christ and how to live a live pleasing to Him. From there we can look at ways to be more offensive.

To go on the offense without solid defensive measures in place for our children, means we risk losing our own family while possibly reaching out to help others. It makes no sense.

Don't be afraid concerning educating your own children. There are numerous places to look for materials you support, and those in my family and extended family that are being trained outside the public school system are not only far beyond the standards of those schools (as measured by their own tests), but also are morally upright and learning about God in a way that will help them to defend and preserve their faith in times of trial.

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God, Men, and Masculinity

There's been an evil traversing the earth over the last several decades, one that is attempting to emasculate men and press them to act, think and be more like women.

The error of feminism and its radical agenda are the source behind this, as jealous and deceived women attempt to destroy the masculine image of God in Christian males.

When you go to the Scriptures and read about God not allowing men to wear women's clothing or women to wear men's clothing, the point behind it went beyond clothing. What God was communicating is men were to be masculine and women were to be feminine.

Now that rebellious feminist men and women have rejected God's word, the increasingly bizarre idea and practice of men and women becoming more like one another has brought about not just the obvious gay and lesbian lifestyle, but has prompted an increasing number of men and women to act as if they're opposite of what they were biologically born as, i.e., transgender.

Men and women are to embrace the gender they're born into

Men are not to take on the characteristics of a woman; it's confusion and an abomination in the eyes of God. It takes away from the purpose of God in the life of a man. The same with a woman. They are meant to be feminine and not manly. Those attempting to dominate and take authority over men are out of order, as the scriptures teach concerning women not being allowed to teach or exercise authority over a man.

What we as Christian men need to do is ignore those that attempt to emasculate us, and start to embrace our manhood given to us by God. Women need to do the same thing as women.

Enough of this sin of distorted confusion where many men are afraid to act like men. Feminine women are also pressured into denying their femininity in the name of false egalitarianism, which is a front for many women who hate men to try to act and behave as if they're superior to men.

There is a growing backlash against this, and though it will take time, we need to see men being masculine and women being feminine, as that's what represents the image of God in this earth, as evidenced by the Scriptures telling us that God created men and women, and together they revealed what He was like.

It wasn't a woman acting like a man or a man acting like a woman that expressed God's image, but each one embracing who and what they were born as and not trying to reject that reality.

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God's Rejection of Gender Blending

Dt. 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.


On the surface this particular verse in the Bible looks to be talking only about clothing. But it doesn't take much thinking and contemplation to understand it's a reference to a male trying to act like he's a female, and a female trying to act like she's a male. The clothing is simply an outward display of that inward rebellion.

The CEV refers to the same verse saying women shouldn't pretend to be men and men shouldn't pretend to be women. That captures the essence and full meaning of the verse.

Almost the entirety of the feminist movement has morphed into an attempt to make men and women the same. Among a growing number of younger people this is being rejected, as the differences are so obvious and real, it takes someone allowing themselves to enter a state of  rejecting reality, to embrace this deception.

Why such a hatred of the differences between men and women? It's a hatred of the image of God. God created men and women, and together they were his image. To blend them into a genderless pairing makes the image of God distorted. As a matter of fact it is no longer the image of God, but a monstrous caricature of humanity.

It's the reason men and women of God must not dress in any way that suggests there is no difference between the genders.

The culmination of this abomination is to put on the clothing of and take on the mannerisms of the opposite sex. God hates this, and the people of God are forbidden to take on these practices, being told to cast that person out from their midst.

There is to be no tolerance or acceptance of this among God's people. It goes beyond just personal tastes, it is a major part of why the foundation of Western civilization, which was influenced heavily by Christians and the Holy Scriptures, is crumbling before our eyes.

Feminism must be rejected in its totality. As usual, there are some well-meaning but confused Christians who'll point to some part of feminism they believe has helped improve societal conditions for women. They're wrong, but that argument itself is a deception because God hates mixture, and to accept the entirety of any ideology based upon a portion that may be considered helpful, is to accept it all. Like with the Bible, you can't pick and choose what you like and disregard the rest. It comes as a whole package.

The bottom line is men and women must completely reject any attempt to make it look like they are the same in any way, shape or form. I'm not only talking about obvious physical differences, but the entirety of our human makeup. Together we represent the image of God because of the fact we represent two different aspects of His image. To take one away is to eliminate the image of God, and that is a direct attack on who He is and what He represents.

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Maintaining and Expanding Christian Culture

To win the culture war we must provide answers and alternatives in all areas of life

Western culture has been rapidly fading, as the influence of Christianity, which it was once built upon, has waned, with many Christians, instead of being salt and light to the culture, have instead absorbed the values and lifestyles of the corrupt, humanistic, so-called post-modern culture.

In place of a vibrant local community, living life on the basis of God's revealed will in the Bible, many Christians, if they even are truly saved, have become inert in their souls, and weaned from desire for obedience to Christ. There are even those using the name of Jesus, going so far as to tell those professing Christ to avoid those who say they live their lives according to the Holy Scriptures.

In the midst of this insanity, there are a growing number of true and faithful believers adhering to the requirements given by God, and are working on ways to not only resist the prevailing cultural influences, but abandon the means and methods used to destroy the faith of their children, in order to win the war for the future of planet earth.

With God, Gold, Guns and Girls, we'll look at the teaching of the Bible concerning a variety of topics that have been undermined by the enemies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, including Jesus as Lord and King; the promised expansion of His kingdom on earth; blessings on the nations and people who make the Lord their God; many areas of economics, business and finance; spiritual warfare and self-defense; and the many ways to understand and resist the evil attempt to make men and women genderless, which has created extraordinary confusion and destruction in young people taught they it's a choice they make, and not how they were born.

We must first defend, then expand the kingdom

The first step we all need to take is to embrace a defensive position, meaning looking at way to eliminate, or at least reduce the influence of the many institutional and media outlets designed for the purpose of stealing the souls of our children and grandchildren.

After all, what's the point of going on the offensive if we aren't first protecting out own house; I mean families here, but also the church. We must take defensive positions to preserve the ways of the Lord for our families, while looking at ways to go on the offensive in the attitude of not giving any quarter to the enemy.

We are past the time of "conversation" and playing nice. That doesn't mean there isn't a time to be patient and kind. Rather, the progressives or social justice warriors are intent on forcing Christians to compromise their faith using manipulation tactics and buzzwords like intolerance, homophobia, fascists, and other terms to intimidate and shut God's people up.

There is no honor or honesty with these people. They're only temporarily and outwardly compliant until they gain an entry into your circle of friends, church, work place, business or local political party, and from there work at destroying almost everything from within, turning it into another liberal enclave, using terminology to confuse those who aren't trained to discern the ideology seething under the surface.

This isn't another rant blog or website though. Here we'll look at ways to identify and combat these forces, and provide a number of case studies in how believers have come together locally to battle against this rising tide of opposition to Jesus Christ and His people.

We are the counter culture

We are now the counter culture, and we need to take that position seriously, and use the tools at our disposal to tear that which is contrary to the revealed will of God as written in the Holy Scriptures, while experimenting with a variety of ways to live out that obedience, showing a better way for those with no other god but political power and control.

Back when the Roman empire was falling, the church of that day took over the corrupt empire, becoming tyrannical in the process, as it basically stamped the name of God on much that was being done.

Instead, it should have worked to undermine the empire, and when it collapsed, should not have went in and taken it over, but provided an alternative way of life and governance that would be representative of the kingdom of God as expressed in heaven.

We're going to do our best at 'God, Gold, Guns and Girls' to do just that.

For more on Christian culture and applying the Bible to daily life, click here.