I have gotten to know a few neighbors. There was the couple with the 2 boys and 3 girls. They’re gone now. The father was taken to jail and the children were taken by DHS. The owner of the home had died and with the father in jail, the mother had no way to pay her bills, so she lived there with no water and electricity. She was reported and now the house is lived in by new neighbors. The children were taken and I haven’t heard from that neighbor since.

Another family that I have gotten to know is a Latino household. The mother is a sweet lady with not-so-great English, but her profanity is superb. She has 3 children, 2 boys and a girl who is the youngest. I talk with the girl and her 18 year old brother often. I have been in their household and became a witness to a household fight. I’d never seen anything like it. It scared me and it hurt me to see a mother and her 3 children disrespecting each other, yelling, cursing… Never saw it before.

Another young lady I have gotten to know is 18. She’s been through a LOT in her young life. I met her during my 1st visit to Philly in December of 2006 through a friend who worked where she lived. How interesting is it that she now lives in another city, 2 doors down from me. I do not believe in coincidences. I believe and know that God is an intentional God.

In those 3 situations, I see how easy it is to share the Gospel, but too often, I am not moved to do so. What sin! I was reading Romans 1 last night where Paul, in his letter, explains to the Romans that he is under obligation to preach the Gospel to Greeks and barbarians, to the wise and foolish. His obligation is to God due to his calling as an apostle, and his being set apart FOR the Gospel, and because of what he says in the verses that follow:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:16-17 ESV

Knowing that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation, and that in it God’s righteousness is revealed, Paul feels his obligation to tell it to all. He’s eager to preach it to all. May my heart be filled with a passion like Paul’s!

Listening to Lecrae’s new album, “Rebel”, he talks about how he and his wife went on a missions trip to Central America, and as she shared her testimony about the Lord Jesus, 40 out of the 40 who heard her had never heard His name! And in his song “Beautiful Feet”, Lecrae, stating that people cannot believe in something they have never heard, expounds upon Romans 10:14-15:

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Romans 10:14-15 ESV

I think it is easy to assume that people have heard of Jesus. We probably just assume that they don’t care… but no! There are people who have NO CLUE who Jesus is! That is an amazing fact to think about! So, as believers, what is the proper way to respond to that deficiency? We go forth and we obey the Great Commission:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 ESV

We were given this and to not be obedient is sin (James 4:17). Man, I desire to be more diligent in sharing the Gospel… it is life, it is light.

Lord, help Your people!

Sin is pervasive and deadly.

When the early church father Chrysostom remarked, “I fear nothing but sin,” he correctly identified sin as the greatest threat any person faces. Sin mars all the relationships people are involved in: with other people, with themselves, and, most significantly, with God. Sin causes suffering, disease, and death in the physical realm and also causes spiritual death—eternal separation from God in Hell.

Because sin is so deadly, we need to carefully define it, so we can understand and avoid it. First John 3:4 sums up the essence of sin when it says, “Sin is lawlessness.” Sin is refusing to obey God’s law; it is rejecting God’s standards; it is, in fact, living as if God did not exist.

In 1 John 5:17, the apostle John adds to his definition of sin, describing it as “unrighteousness.” James defines sin as failing to do what is good (James 4:17). Paul defines it as lack of faith (Rom. 14:23). Sin is the ultimate act of ingratitude toward the God “who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17).

Sin pollutes the sinner, prompting Paul to refer to it as that “defilement of flesh and spirit” (2 Cor. 7:1) from which sinners are in desperate need of cleansing. No amount of human effort, however, can cleanse a person of sin. Such self-effort is as futile as attempting to change the color of one’s skin (Jer. 13:23). Only through the death of Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice for sin (Heb. 10:12), is forgiveness and cleansing available (1 John 1:7). Sin is the only thing that God hates (cf. Jer. 44:4), and so must believers (Ps. 97:10; Amos 5:15). The great Puritan writer Thomas Watson noted that a prerequisite for sanctification is such hatred for sin. Renew your commitment today to grow in your relationship with the Lord by hating evil (Prov. 8:13).

Suggestions for Prayer:

Pray for yourself and others that you would not be deceived by the subtleness of sin (Heb. 3:13).

For Further Study:

Identify the sins you struggle with the most. Using a concordance and other study tools, find out what the Bible says about those sins. Form a biblical plan of attack to combat them.

From Strength for Today by John MacArthur Copyright © 1997. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com

If you have / had any tattoos or piercings, please take yourself to get tested for hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a blood borne virus that affects the liver and can be spread through contaminated needles. If you have any tattoos or piercings, please take yourself to a doctor and get tested for hepatitis. It is not as rare as people would like to think it is, and many times there is the thought of, “It will never happen to me”. But do know that if everyone thinks that, someone has to be wrong because hepatitis C does get spread. Also, even if you don’t FEEL sick, the CDC states that many people who are infected never have symptoms and therefore never come to the attention of medical or public health officials. The CDC also states:

An estimated 3.2 million persons in the United States have chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Most people do not know they are infected because they don’t look or feel sick.

It can get pretty serious… So think of it this way - Let’s say you have had it for a year or so, no symptoms… well:

Hepatitis C can cause damage to your liver, even if you don’t have symptoms. You’re also able to pass the virus to others without having any symptoms yourself.

Most people infected with HCV (Hepatitis C virus) develop chronic hepatitis. Some people infected with hepatitis C develop cirrhosis, usually within 20 to 30 years after infection. This risk is higher and the progression is faster if you also have HIV infection. Of those who develop cirrhosis, the risk of developing liver failure is about 4 percent a year. In addition, between 1 percent and 5 percent of people with HCV eventually develop liver cancer.

HCV also may increase the risk of developing several types of lymphatic system cancers (lymphomas). Your risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, for example, may increase by 20 percent to 30 percent. Rarely, HCV infection can be associated with skin and kidney problems. The hepatitis C virus is linked to an increased risk of porphyria cutanea tarda, a condition that may cause a blistering rash, to cryoglobulinemia, which can cause a purplish rash (purpura) on your lower extremities, and may cause kidney damage.

Over time, if you have a hepatitis C infection, it can lead to liver cancer, liver failure or cirrhosis — irreversible and potentially fatal scarring of the liver.

So, please, be wise and get tested.

Check out HepCnet for more information.

People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.
- Abraham Lincoln

Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?
- George W. Bush

She will be 28 years old this Friday. She’s OLD, right!? She is me, lol.

Where did all the time go? It seems like I JUST turned 21! I remember being in high school, lying about my age, saying I was older than I really was. My mom warned me that those days would cease. And they did. Mainly because the Lord saved me so I desire to live in truth, lol, but also, now? When people ask, I say I am in my 20s. Gosh, I am considered to be in my LATE 20s! I don’t want the word ‘late’ attached to me! Late points to expiration!

But all in all, I am grateful. There’s atleast 5 from my high school graduating class of 1998 that are no longer here. Of all the situations I have put myself in before salvation and during salvation, I’m most grateful. Two words - The Lord.

I have started reading a chapter of the book (the one on Katie) which is available in .pdf format as a free download from the site. The book comes out on September 30th.