Why McCain Lost

I recently came across an article from the evangelist Perry Stone. He gives his opinion on why John McCain did not get elected. I find it interesting and very possible. I will give a little bit of what he said. If you would like to read the whole article, click on the title.
Perry states: "Shortly after McCain became the choice of the Republicans, John Hagee stepped forward to endorse McCain. It was then the media found a clip of Hagee preaching a prophetic word which linked the woman on the beast in Revelation 18 to Rome and the Roman church system. Many Bible believing Catholics even believe that an apostate pope will take charge of the church in the future and if confronted with the teaching would actually agree with Hagee’s futuristic interpretation. The media, however, misrepresented the teaching of Hagee and made it appear that he was a Catholic hater. Once the clip from Hagee became public, McCain rejected Hagee’s endorsement due to pressure from some Catholic groups.

Another early endorsement for McCain came from Pastor Rod Parsley. In 2004 it was pastor Parsley’s ministry that began to reveal the importance of selecting leaders who would reject the shedding of innocent blood and same sex relations. His rallies across Ohio actually exposed the hypocrisy of anti-biblical thinking and revealed a conflict of cultures in America. Rod’s messages amazingly translated to a great Ohio victory for President Bush in 2004. The contrast between Bush’s more conservative thought and John Kerry’s liberal stance was evident and Bush won Ohio.

Shortly after Parsley’s endorsement of McCain, the media again went after this great man of God and began to say he had been spewing hate toward Muslims when in fact he had actually exposed fanatical and dangerous forms of Islam. The media painted Rod as a right winged fanatic. Once again, out of fear McCain rejected Rod’s endorsement and Rod stepped aside from the picture.

When McCain was running against Bush for the Republican nomination in 2000, the McCain campaign was in Virginia. There the senator made a very huge blunder, comparing Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell to Louis Farrakkhan and Al Sharpton and called them “agents of intolerance.” He continued, “They are corrupting influences on religion and politics, and those who practice them in the name of religion or in the name of the Republican Party or in the name of America shame our faith, our party and our country…”

The fact is the strongest base of the Republican Party is considerably Christian, which includes millions of conservatives, and when they are expelled from the process, it will be impossible for any Republican candidate to ever win the White House, or a congressional seat.

The public rejection of the endorsement of two great ministers was a mistake. Any conservative leader who desires to obtain the highest offices of the land in the future must understand the importance of the conservative Christian base. We are not going anywhere and instead of dying out, these millions of Christians will continue to fight for the causes that are right and just in the eyes of God, including life, marriage, fiscal responsibility and freedom to worship."
I think this is a very viable point he makes. I know a lot of Christians that just couldn't jump on board the 'McCain bandwagon', even when Palin joined the ticket. Very interesting indeed.

The End is Near II

The chart in my Bible- 'The Last Days of Preparation' has 8 categories of things that need to happen before the rapture occurs:

1. Increase of false prophets and religious compromise within the church.
2. Increase of crime and disregard of God's law.
3. Increase of wars , famines and earthquakes.
4. Decrease in love and family affection.
5. More severe persecution of God's people.
6. Those who stand firm will be saved.
7. Gospel will be preached to the whole world.
8. The Spirit will be poured out on God's people.

How many of these have been occurring or have happened?
2Timothy 3:1-5 'But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them'
I will give a longer list of Scriptures in another post. I just have had this one on my heart for a while now.

The End is Near

We are living in the end times. Jesus is coming back to collect His own to Heaven. Then comes the seven years before the final judgment. I'm not a theologian nor an eschatologist. I go to an Assembly of God church and believe in their 16 Fundamental Truths. I also have a really neat Bible with a chart in it explaining 'the last days of history'.
What peaked my interest enough to write about end times has been recent events and verses that keep speaking about it. Also, I hear fellow Christians and churches speaking more on the subject. It is no wonder everybody isn't talking about it with all of the recent financial troubles worldwide, the elections, natural disasters, and immorality becoming more prevalent.
My chart is boxed into chronological categories: Last Days of Preparation, The Rapture, The Tribulation, The Great Tribulation (the last 3.5 years), The Antichrist, Christ's appearance to judge and to wage war, The Millennium, The Final Judgment, and The New Heavens and New Earth. Before finding this chart, I just wanted to write down a few verses to focus on what to look for in our own lives and in the world. I will focus only on the last days of preparation and might reference to the others. This will be the first of a few posts on this subject.
As I wrote several times this year, it has been a year of change for me. God showed me my issues with pride, self-centeredness, problems in my marriage, and other things. So I had ears to hear what God was saying to me. What I've been hearing is we have better get it together or we might not have any oil left in our lamp when Jesus shows up (Matthew 25:1-13). You think you always have time to get 'serious' with God. Time is running out. I can see the Rapture coming within the next few years. A lot of things are in place and have happened according to scripture that need to before Jesus comes for us. Many are occuring now and at a rapid pace.
Romans 2:7-9 'To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;' (NIV) These verses point to the end times and how each heart will increase in good or evil. Matthew 24:12-13 'Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.' (NIV) The love of MOST will grow cold. Are you in the most crowd? I did not think so either. I thought I loved God and heard His voice. I thought I was selfless, giving, and had a good marriage. I got a very important wake up call. I was in the most crowd. I only loved God part time. I was deceived so bad I thought I was good. I loved me more than my wife, others, and God. I was comparing my life with others in the world. Yes, compared to the world I do look good. However, we are not to compare ourselves to each other but to Jesus.
How do you compare to Him? Do you think of others when needs arise? Do you give to your church, missions, and to those in need? Do you avoid people just so you don't have to talk to them? A lot of people need help of some kind. Maybe Jesus is calling you to help one of them. Do you want to know God more? What are you doing about that? Are you letting your love grow cold towards God by avoiding Him? He's there with you right now. Ask Him to forgive you from a lazy cold heart. He wants you to be ready when He comes back. The end may be near, but it can be just the beginning for you. Romans 10:9-10 says 'If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.' You are one prayer away from making sure you go to heaven. God will tell you what to do if you only ask Him. Don't stay cold. Time is short.

Finding Good in the Vote

I live in Michigan. I work in Ohio. Both states nominated Obama and all the Senate and House winners were not who I voted for. I saw the bars at the top of the page of MSNBC.com and they declared both houses of government and the president are now controlled by the Democrats. I looked up the two proposals in Michigan and they both passed. One is for Medical Marijuana use and the other is my tax dollars to be use for Embryo and Embryonic Stem Cell Research.
I started to freak out a little because it looked like the world was coming to an end. Then I remembered the gay marriage ban proposal in California was being voted on also. I looked at it and saw it winning and my hopes came back. The country isn't going to hell in a hand basket over night! It may be in a few months but not over night!
Also, I remembered a list put out by The Family Research Council. It gives every proposal/amendment that was up for vote that affects the family. As I checked these one by one I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of the things were passing. Colorado, Arkansas, Arizona, and Florida all passed their proposals on marriage = one man and one woman. Colorado's declared a person starts at conception.
I did find two other disappointments in South Dakota and Washington. Washington voted for assisted suicide and South Dakota voted not to ban abortions.
Overall looking at the big picture, I don't like what I see. With the Democrats in control, I can see our morals as a country deteriorating quickly. Without a lot of prayer and groups that stand for family values fighting and keeping us informed, Sodom and Gomorrah will seem better off than we will be.
I know once Obama is in the Presidency January 20th our government will try to silence any voice that tries to inform Americans of legislation that is sneaked into a bill just to get it passed. I can't tell you how many times James Dobson came on Focus on the Family to tell us of a bill that needed our involvement so it wouldn't get passed. Thousands would call and email their congressman and it wouldn't pass.
They tried on bill #1 on the 2008 agenda to pass a bill to silence all religious organizations on speaking out the truth about bills being voted on in the House and Senate. Jesus is being banned left and right in every shape and form. My pastor had an article he blogged about that tells of a child that had to leave school because his costume was a distraction to the education process. He was dressed as Jesus Christ.
Well I just wanted to shed a little light on a dark picture. Hopefully, this will get Christians to seek His face all the more. We can't depend on too much in this planet anymore. God needs to be our guide and make a way where there is no way.